CGD Lead Poisoning Bi-weekly Update, October 16

AuthorAuthor

Theo Mitchell & Rachel Bonnifield
October 16, 2026

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
Senior Fellow
Center for Global Development

New Publications and Resources

  • A Small Country's Big Fight: Georgia's National Response to Childhood Lead Exposure. Maria Jose Talayero Schettino and Caroline Mallory. Center for Global Development. How Georgia built its national laboratory capacity and established a national surveillance programme.

  • The Case for Scaling Fingerprick Blood Lead Testing. Siddhartha Haria, Eric Trueswell and William Seitz. Center for Global Development. Existing cheap fingerprick tests are good enough to support wider blood lead surveys and screening in LMICs while better tests are developed. Coordinated bulk purchasing could reduce costs further.

  • The CDC Foundation is seeking reviewers for its Blood Lead Testing Toolkit, which will help laboratories establish or expand blood lead testing. Reviewers with experience in diagnostics or laboratory capacity strengthening will provide feedback between December 2026 and February 2027. Express interest here by 30 October.

Upcoming Events

  • Join a GenomeWeb panel on low-cost blood lead testing, where CHAI and Renaissance Philanthropy will launch a programme offering financial incentives and technical support to develop a new point-of-care test. Register here.  Thursday, 29 October 2026, 14:00 GMT, online.

  • Pure Earth is hosting a webinar for International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week on new regulations restricting lead in cookware in Ghana, India and Mexico. Panellists will discuss how the regulations came about and what it will take to enforce them. Register here. Thursday, 22 October 2026, 14:00 BST, online.

  • Vital Strategies and the University of São Paulo will host a seminar on strengthening lead poisoning prevention, surveillance and response in Brazil. The event will also be livestreamed. Register here. Wednesday, 4 November 2026, 08:30–17:30 BRT, USP School of Public Health, São Paulo, and online.

  • Global Health Hub Germany’s NCDs Community will host “Lead Poisoning as a Neglected Global Crisis: Evidence, Scale, and Policy Options”, with Lee Crawfurd presenting his meta-analysis linking blood lead levels to children’s learning outcomes. Join here. Wednesday, 21 October 2026, 15:00–15:40 BST, online.