People must raise their demands to political parties which will participate in the next general elections so that they may pledge to work towards better public health, said Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on environment ministry, yesterday.

"We have passed 50 years, but how our next 50 years will progress  will depend on our outlook on public health," said Saber, at a seminar held at the Department of Environment (DoE) auditorium.

The seminar was organised by DoE in collaboration with the World Bank, Unicef, Pure Earth, Dhaka University's oceanography department and earth and environmental science department; and Bangladesh Bondhu Foundation.

Two recent studies by Unicef, IEDCR and icddr,b found lead in the bloodwork of 100 percent of children (a total of 980 children in four districts and 500 children in Dhaka).

Around 40 to 80 percent of the children had very high blood lead levels above 5ug/dl. Other studies have also confirmed lead in turmeric, toys, paints, aluminum and ceramic cookware and some food items in Bangladesh.

In a survey conducted in 2020, more than 1,100 informal used lead acid batterry (ULAB) sites were identified around Bangladesh. Informal recycling of used lead acid batteries is one of the major sources of lead exposure.

"We are making a huge investment in health, education, and vaccination for the children in our budget but on the other side we are putting them to face lead poisoning," he said.

Mentioning the statistics presented in the seminar, Saber said, "Some 2.73 lakh people died due to pollution in Bangladesh in 2019. So, where is our priority? Article 18 of the constitution is public health which is one of the main responsibilities of the government."

Stressing the need to specify the ministry for ensuring public health, Saber questioned, "Is it the role of health ministry, or ministry of environment or for local government for maintain public health? Because it's not specified."

Sheldon Yett, Unicef representative to Bangladesh, said "The negative effects of lead poisoning are far greater for children than adults, and the damage is irreversible. We must safeguard the environment in which children live -- the air they breathe, the water they drink, the food they eat."

DNCC Mayor Md Atiqul Islam said there are rivers, canals and storm drains in Dhaka, but these are being polluted by the sewage from households as they do not use septic tanks or shock pits.

"Until or unless we are aware, we cannot change the whole system," he said.