28 Children Killed By Contaminated Water In Niger State, Nigeria
(Reuters) – At least 28 children under the age of five have been killed by drinking stream water contaminated with lead in Nigeria’s Niger state, health minister Fidelis Nwankwo said, and officials blamed the contamination on illegal mining.
Villagers “were mining for gold, and (the water was made toxic) by its impurities,” said Mohammed Usman, a government health official in Niger state on Friday.
Nwankwo said on Thursday that 28 out of 65 children who became ill from the contamination had died, according to reports up to May 12 from villages in the Rafi local government area that borders Kaduna state. Many cows, goats and chickens and other livestock were killed too.
“The villagers initially ascribed the infections to witchcraft, but it must have being going for years,” Usman said, adding reports suggested the deaths were in April.
“The affected children were found to have high serum lead levels …17 to 22 times higher than the acceptable limits as established by the World Health Organisation (WHO),” said Nwankwo, the minister of state for health.
Large scale lead poisoning from illegal mining has been reported before in Nigeria, notably in Zamfara state in 2010 when at least 163 people died out of 355 who became sick from the toxins.
Source: reuters.com
Niger, una don start o….what are d health officials doing?
Lord have mercy! Why only kids?
It really makes me mad how careless our government is over little stuff that will benefit the common man. How can people still be drinking stream water in 2015? What does it cost to give the people clean pipe borne water to drink? One person will steal the amount of money big enough to take care of a nation. Devil will punish some people.
Hmmmmmmmm
So Niger state govt cannot provide pipe borne water 4 her people?This is so sad
This is so sad. When will this country grow? Smh
May d souls of the dead rest in peace.
so sad
Message.. Oh Lord
Very sad nd our politicians waste money like no man’s business yet people still drink stream water. May their innocent souls rest in peace, amen
So sad
How sad
Eeeeyah this is sad ooo