World Bank assists Zambia in alleviating lead contamination

The World Bank has agreed to fund another lead remediation project in central Zambia's Kabwe town aimed at mitigating the impact of lead poisoning on human health and the environment, the Zambia Daily Mail reported on Thursday.

The World Bank and Nordic Development Bank started supporting Zambia to address problems of lead pollution after the closure of the Kabwe Mine from 1994 up to 2010. The Zambian town has been listed among the world's most polluted places.

Central Province Permanent Secretary Edwidge Mutale said the World Bank has given Zambia 60 million U.S. dollars for the five- year program which will also cover the mining towns of Chingola and Mufulira on the Copperbelt Province.

The project was expected to commence next year.

"The World Bank is coming and they would want to come and see how they can help to mitigate the lead poisoning here in Kabwe," she was quoted as saying by the paper.

The official said discussions on the implementation of the project have reached an advanced stage and has commended the World Bank for coming on board to support the government efforts in addressing the lead contamination issue.

"We would have loved this project to start last year because we are having children being born; children who are growing up in areas affected by lead poisoning and they are at risk," she added.

According to her, as long as they were deposits of lead underground, people in the Zambian town were at risk of exposure to the toxic mineral which was mined from 1906 to 1994. Endi