Zamfara Children Face Deadly Heavy Metal Poisoning as Illegal Gold Mining Surges After MSF Exit

Story: Reported by Okafor Joseph and Rita Uzuh for SpringnewsNG Media Limited.
Gusau, Nigeria — July 31, 2025: Three years after Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) — also known as Doctors Without Borders — ended its life‑saving lead poisoning treatment program in Zamfara State, a deadly resurgence of heavy metal poisoning is claiming the lives of children. Illegal gold mining, the root cause of the crisis, continues unchecked, while government intervention remains grossly inadequate.

Under a neem tree at the Zamfara State Infectious Disease Centre in Gusau, 41‑year‑old Hafsat Rabiu fanned her two daughters, Safiya, 6, and Nasiba, 4. Both lay weak and feverish, their tiny bodies ravaged by heavy metal poisoning. “I want to take them home,” Rabiu said in despair. “At least there, I can give them something to eat.”

Despite government promises of free treatment, caregivers at the facility reported shortages of food, medicine, and basic support for victims. Meanwhile, motorcycles carrying more sick children — some with acute ascites, a swelling of the abdomen caused by toxic exposure — arrived in waves.

Zamfara’s Silent Killer Returns
Heavy metal poisoning occurs when toxic substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic accumulate in the body. In children, it can trigger seizures, brain damage, and organ failure.

Zamfara’s lead contamination crisis, first identified in 2010, remains the worst recorded outbreak in history, killing over 600 children and leaving hundreds more permanently disabled, according to The Guardian UK. Despite joint remediation efforts by the federal and state governments, alongside international health agencies, illegal gold mining continues to expose rural communities to lethal toxins.

After MSF ended its decade‑long lead treatment program in 2022, the responsibility for managing cases shifted to local authorities — a transition that health experts now say has left victims dangerously vulnerable.

Government Response Falls Short
In May 2025, the Zamfara government reopened the state’s Infectious Disease Centre, originally built in 2020 for COVID‑19, to handle the surge of poisoning cases.

Ahmad Muhammad Gusau, the state epidemiologist and head of the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC), confirmed the response. Yet, on‑ground observations reveal critical gaps in care, with many children left untreated and starving as their parents struggle to keep them alive.

Illegal Mining Fuels Crisis
Community health experts warn that illegal artisanal gold mining, which exposes soil and water to lead contamination, continues to drive the crisis. Despite multiple government and donor‑funded remediation projects, miners return to contaminated sites, undoing previous clean‑up efforts.

Without urgent intervention — including strict mining regulation, comprehensive medical treatment, and renewed international support — health officials fear Zamfara could face another catastrophic wave of child fatalities.