**13. Clinical approach**

Medecins Sans Fronteres (MSF) was the first agency to have discovered an unprecedented mass epidemic of lead poisoning in Zamfara State, Nigeria in March, 2010. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and multiple partners in the health sector from within and outside Nigeria assisted Zamfara State Government in environmental health investigation and subsequently in emergency response to the health crisis [6]. Medecins Sans Frontieres built clinics in the affected villages and provided treatment for the poisoned children [8]. Over 2000 children under the age of five years were made available for treatment in the MSF clinics from the seven contaminated villages,

*Lead Poisoning in Zamfara State Nigeria: Effects on Environmental Health DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112909*

where remediation process of the lead pollution was commenced in June, 2010 and completed in March 2011 [10].

The emergency response to the Zamfara State mass lead poisoning attracted multiple agencies from within and outside Nigeria. These agencies worked together in partnership with National and Zamfara State authorities to resolve the lead poisoning crisis. The leadership of local communities had been involved in the entire process with their representation by the community leaders, district heads and emirs [7]. The multidisciplinary agencies involved in the mission had members drawn from different nationalities and diverse areas of professionalism related to health issues and lead pollution control processes. The agencies include WHO, the UN agencies: the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), UNEP Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UNEP Joint Environment Unit (JEU), as well as MSF, United States Centers for Disease Control (US CDC), the Blacksmith Institute (BI), TerraGraphics Environmental Engineering Incorporated (TG) and the Artisanal Gold Council (AGC) [5].
