Background and SRADev Nigeria’s activities

Nigeria has the largest population in Africa at 223.8 million and is the sixth most populous country in the world. UNICEF estimates that 43.2 million children in Nigeria are affected by lead poisoning, costing the country an estimated $16.2 billion in lost earnings every year.

In July 2023, LEEP awarded a grant to Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria) to support lead paint elimination in Nigeria through government advocacy and industry engagement. The grant sought to build on SRADev Nigeria’s previous work toward eliminating lead paint by making progress towards specific regulatory goals, and by working with industry stakeholders to support reformulation.

SRADev Nigeria is a NGO based in Lagos and Abuja that advocates for sustainable development and management of the environment. It is led by Executive Director, Dr Leslie Adogame. Since 2009, SRADev Nigeria’s local and global advocacy work on lead paint has been with the partnership and financial support of International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN). In 2017, they conducted a study on lead paint for home use. The study found that 74% (40 out of 54) of analysed solvent-based paints for home use contained hazardous levels of lead (greater than 90 ppm, the maximum level recommended by the WHO and UNEP).

After the study, from 2019 to 2022, SRADev Nigeria in partnership with IPEN, was a participant in the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) Global Environment Facility (GEF) project, supporting lead paint legislation and assisting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in reformulation to lead-free paint.

Recent progress on lead paint regulation and standard

In October 2023, SRADev Nigeria held an inception workshop, facilitated by LEEP’s support, during International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (ILPPW). Prior to the event, SRADev Nigeria met with key government stakeholders to solicit their support of project activities.

The workshop served as a catalyst for accomplishing another goal outlined in LEEP and SRADev’s project: SRADev’s advocacy garnered the commitment of the Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv) to expedite the signing of lead paint regulation. FMEnv is the parent ministry to the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA). NESREA’s mandate is to enforce compliance with regulations on the importation, exportation, production, distribution, storage, sale, use, handling, and disposal of hazardous chemicals. Following the strong advocacy support of SRADev with IPEN, NESREA had drafted lead paint regulation in 2020; however, the regulation was not yet finalised or gazetted. After the October 2023 workshop, funded and facilitated by LEEP, this regulation was signed in November, and then gazetted in March 2024. The signing and gazetting of the regulation mean that it is now an enforceable law in Nigeria. This regulation includes the internationally accepted limit of 90 ppm for lead content in paint and outlines enforcement, offences, and penalties.

SON, SRADev, and LEEP during the Technical Committee Meeting at SON’s office in Lagos, June 2024.

In addition to this new regulation, Nigeria has a standard on lead paint, ECOSTAND 092. The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), which falls under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), passed this standard on lead paint in 2017. The standard specifies a 90 ppm limit on total lead content in paint, and is in alignment with the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) standard on lead paint.

In June 2024, LEEP sponsored and attended a meeting of SON’s Technical Committee on Paints and Varnishes in Lagos. During this meeting, the standard was reviewed and updated to include mandatory labelling, which means that manufacturers must include messaging that states ‘no added lead’ on paint can labels. LEEP visited SON’s laboratory facilities and spoke with laboratory staff to better understand SON’s testing capacity for lead paint. SRADev provided logistical support for the meeting, and also for a subsequent awareness-raising workshop for the updated standard. The workshop was attended by industry and government stakeholders and was also covered by prominent media outlets, including EnviroNews Nigeria, Guardian Nigeria News, and AIT Kakaaki.

LEEP and the Technical Committee on Paints and Varnishes during a visit to SON’s laboratory organised by SRADev Nigeria.

News coverage from AIT Kakaaki, a local news outlet, about the awareness-raising workshop

Industry outreach

Since April 2024, SRADev Nigeria has been organising workshops, with LEEP’s facilitation and support, to raise awareness amongst industry stakeholders regarding lead paint regulation and the mandatory standard on lead paint, and to encourage SMEs to reformulate to lead-free paint. Workshops have covered three of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria–the North Central, South West, and South East zones. These zones cover an estimated 46.3% of the total population. Additionally, SRADev Nigeria, in partnership with the Paint Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMA) and under the auspices of LEEP, held a meeting of raw material suppliers and distributors in Nigeria to take inventory of the lead-free alternatives available to manufacturers.

LEEP continues to engage industry stakeholders in Nigeria, and is currently working with local distributors to determine how lead-free raw materials can most efficiently reach paint manufacturers across the nation.

Additionally, LEEP is looking forward to working with the Government of Nigeria to strengthen monitoring and enforcement to successfully eliminate new lead paint from the market. With both regulation and a mandatory standard in place, the government of Nigeria is well placed to take decisive action and to assume a position as a leader in the region on this important issue.

Acknowledgements and thanks

LEEP would like to thank the excellent teams at SRADev Nigeria, SON, and NESREA for their commitment and efforts towards eliminating lead paint in Nigeria. We appreciate continued support from the PMA, FMITI, FMEnv, Federal Ministry of Health, FCCPC, LASEPA, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), as we work to address this important issue.

Bal Dhital and Yujin Han, Program Managers at LEEP, with Dr Leslie Adogame, Executive Director of SRADev Nigeria.