CGD Lead Poisoning Bi-weekly Update, July 24

AuthorAuthor

Theo Mitchell & Rachel Bonnifield
July 25, 2025

Dear Colleagues,

Sharing here CGD’s bi-weekly update on lead poisoning publications, events, job opportunities, and funding announcements.

We welcome submissions for future newsletters at this link. New subscribers can sign up at this link, and existing subscribers can remove themselves from future updates via the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email. We will also invite the new subscribers to join our monthly check-in call.

With best wishes,

Rachel Bonnifield
Director of Global Health Policy and Senior Fellow
Center for Global Development

New Publications and Resources

  • Chelation Therapy for Lead Poisoning: Essential, Yet Neglected – Scott Matafwali, Scott’s Global Health Dispatch. Scott highlights how chelation medicines remain largely inaccessible in LMICs despite their inclusion on the WHO essential medicines list. He argues that WHO prequalification of chelation drug manufacturers is needed to reduce costs, and that donors and NGOs should help manufacturers navigate the prequalification process.

  • Distribution Mapping and Risk Assessment of Lead in Topsoil Across the Tibetan Plateau – Chen et al., Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. Using machine learning and 733 soil samples, researchers produced hazard maps of lead contamination in Tibetan Plateau soils. They estimate 4.11 million people live in areas at-risk. Soil pH and terrain slope were key predictors of lead accumulation.

Job Opportunities

Other Announcements

  • Bloomberg Philanthropies has launched a new initiative to address lead poisoning in low- and middle-income countires. Announced in its 2025 Annual Report, the program will support expanded blood lead testing; regulatory action on lead in paint, spices, and batteries; and remediation of major contamination sites.