Insight

Cleaning up Nigeria’s toxic playgrounds

In a remote region of northern Nigeria the signs of a lead poisoning crisis caused by small-scale gold mining are still visible especially among children, despite a four-year clean-up project. Four-year-old Umaima stares into space, seeming detached from all that is going on around her in the small village of Sumke. She has not been able to talk or hear since she was two. For some months she was unable to walk until she received medical treatment.
The contamination in Nigeriau2019s Zamfara state is seen as the worst case of lead poisoning in the world. Net photo
The contamination in Nigeria’s Zamfara state is seen as the worst case of lead poisoning in the world. Net photo
Quartz