There is a growing complaint of students in regions where illegal mining is prevalent experiencing some form of memory loss which is gravely affecting education. A visit to some cluster of schools in the middle belt region of Ghana will have you bombarded with complaints of some children, who were top of their classes or academically sound now stumbling on words and struggling to read passages that hitherto were not challenging for them.
Madam Grace Odamptey who refused to have the name of her school published said “Two of my best students are now average students. Several checks on the family indicate that no additional workload has been given them in the house to make them tired and cause the continuous memory loss they exhibit in class. In my view, this is being caused by the bad effects of illegal mining on our food and water”
A recent UNICEF study has pegged that one in three children worldwide has unsafe levels of lead in their blood. Ghana ranked one of the worst hit countries with blood lead levels above safe limits. The tragedy is that most families do not even know. Lead has no smell, no taste, no immediate pain. Its damage is slow, permanent, and devastating.
Across Ghana, lead pollution has creeped quietly into our daily lives and has silently led to the death and ill health of many who are oblivious of it. From Agbogbloshie’s e‑waste dumps, where boys burn wires to extract copper, to informal batteryrecycling yards, where men melt down lead plates with bare hands, which infiltrates homes, food, and bodies as well as the devastating effect of illegally mining the black gold in Ghana’s waters and forests.
In mining regions such as Ashanti, Western and Eastern Regions, the prominent sources of lead can be found in fish, vegetables and the soil leading to a food chain contamination. At Agbogbloshie in Accra for instance, the e-waste sites are grounds for lead dust in the soil and air causing severe respiratory and neurological risks. This is Kwame Addai, who trades in E-waste at Agbogbloshie in Accra “I have heard the job I am into causes cancers and other ailments but this is my source of livelihood. What will I do in place of this to make ends meet”
In an interview with Dr Abena Bimpeh of the Koforidua Polyclinic in the Eastern Region she noted with alarm that poisoning from lead occurs when there is an accumulation of the metal in the body of a human or an animal overtime. This metal, she said, is present in lead-based paints, contaminated dust, water, soil or even occupational exposures to the metal overtime and children are the most affected.
She added that Lead attacks the developing brains of children, lowering IQ, impairing memory, and increasing the risk of behavioral disorders. Dr Bimpeh noted that many mothers unknowingly pass the lead on to unborn babies during pregnancy, leading to miscarriages or developmental delays.
The WHO estimates that 143,000 deaths occur annually worldwide from lead exposure. In Ghana, soil samples near mining towns show lead levels five timeshigher than international safety standards, with Children in affected communities are three times more likely to struggle in school compared to peers in cleaner environments.
With illegal mining being a leading factor in the lead pollution in Ghana, Ghanaians are deeply worried about how the menace can be halted as the informal recycling of e-waste and mining have over the years become the lifelines for thousands of families. The dilemma here now is how to shut these activities down without the government finding alternative livelihoods for them to prevent the high risk of deepening poverty. Yet, leaving them unchecked condemns another generation to illness and silent deaths.
For many, the government has to be firm in its decisions on banning all activities that contribute to lead poisoning such as illegal mining and the burning of e-waste. They are also calling for a national plan that involves the testing of children’s blood since they are at high risk, cleaning contaminated soil and water bodies and enforcing safer agriculture and industrial practices. Otherwise, they say Ghana will pay for any delayed act with its future workforce.
