Community environmental health awareness : ending childhood lead poisoning during the international lead poisoning prevention week

Abstract

Certain groups in the community are more vulnerable than others. Expecting mothers and children are among the vulnerable groups in the population who can be affected by the environment that surround them. One of the important environmental exposures to address is Lead. This latter chemical is considered to be a toxicant that has negative health effects on individuals. It can cause adverse outcomes to the expecting mother and/or to the growing foetus and child. The “Ending Childhood Lead Poisoning” campaign, organized by HERA under the patronage of the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health and the World Health Organization during the ILPPW in October 2023. This intervention is a nationwide campaign that aims to raise awareness on the causes of lead, its effects on human, its sources and the modes of prevention. Many interventions were organized among several social groups of different ages and backgrounds to emphasize on the importance of banning the use of lead. The intern’s practicum revolved around this campaign, as a student was a member of HERA’s team who worked thoroughly to make this campaign a milestone in the field of environmental health in the Lebanese context. A diversity of campaign material was prepared, developed and distributed to the audience from posters, to booklets, to stickers. Also, many activities were organized during October 2023 to spread and share awareness among the biggest number of beneficiaries.