{"id":5115,"date":"2026-11-06T08:49:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T08:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/?p=5115"},"modified":"2026-11-06T08:49:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T08:49:00","slug":"experts-call-for-tighter-controls-on-lead-in-paint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/06\/experts-call-for-tighter-controls-on-lead-in-paint\/politics\/national\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts call for tighter controls on lead in paint"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Health experts have called for stronger monitoring and enforcement of standards governing the use of lead in paint, warning that exposure to the toxic metal can harm children\u2019s development and pose serious risks to pregnant women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call was made during a meeting held in Kigali on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, bringing together representatives of the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (RICA), the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB), paint manufacturers and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lead has historically been used in paint to provide colour and help it dry faster. However, exposure to the metal can damage the brain and nervous system, affect growth and harm reproductive health. Exposure during pregnancy can also increase the risk of miscarriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twagirimana Baltazar, Deputy Director of ARECO-RWANDA NZIZA, said stronger measures were needed to protect people from the dangers associated with lead-based paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLead damages the brain and affects development. It can also affect bones and cause problems for pregnant women, including miscarriage. Measures should be put in place to ensure people understand that using this chemical can harm their health,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ARECO-RWANDA NZIZA, an organisation involved in environmental protection and public awareness, estimates that more than 1.3 million children in Rwanda could be exposed to lead poisoning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The organisation conducts an awareness campaign every October, targeting schools and paint manufacturers to educate the public about the dangers of lead and encourage the use of safer alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nirere Marie Chantal, an employee of AMACO PAINTS, said the company had stopped using lead after learning about its potential effects on human health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe no longer use it. We carried out research to understand its effects, especially on pregnant women and children. We found that when a pregnant woman inhales air containing lead from paint, it can affect the unborn child and may even lead to miscarriage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clement Uwimana, an official responsible for industrial chemicals at RSB, said Rwanda’s standards are developed in line with national, regional and international technical requirements, with input from experts, manufacturers, universities and other organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the standards are reviewed periodically, but more capacity is needed to inspect products, test paint and monitor what is available on the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ARECO-RWANDA NZIZA, with support from the Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP), is working with the Ministry of Environment, the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), RSB and RICA to raise awareness, strengthen enforcement and help manufacturers adopt safer production methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Health experts have called for stronger monitoring and enforcement of standards governing the use of lead in paint, warning that exposure to the toxic metal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,53,51,34,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current_affairs","category-featured-stories","category-health","category-national","category-top_stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5115"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5118,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5115\/revisions\/5118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}