Project Lead Free Madagascar

Eliminating lead exposure in water from Malagasy-made hand pumps.

Project Lead Free Madagascar

Project Lead Free Madagascar (Madagasikara Tsisy Firaka in Malagasy) works in Toamasina, Madagascar to eliminate lead exposure and lead poisoning from water supplied by locally-made household hand pumps. In collaboration with our local NGO partner St. Gabriel, we aim to educate households and pump technicians about the dangers of lead contamination and promote the adoption of safe, lead free pump parts.

Join us in this vital mission to protect families from lead exposure.

Our Solution

Toamasina, Madagascar

The Silent Poison

Current situation in Toamasina.

Between 6,000 to 21,000 locally made handpumps in Toamasina, Madagascar, are exposing 74,000 to 260,000 people to dangerous levels of lead, largely because users are unaware of the health risks of commonly used lead parts.

Estimates show that one-third to two-thirds of these pumps exceed WHO lead guidelines, silently poisoning their users.

A peer-reviewed study of 362 children in Toamasina found 68% had blood-lead levels above the U.S. CDC guidelines, and 27% were above twice that level. (Champion 2022)

These blood-lead levels cause lasting harm, including reduced IQ and other long-term health effects.

Our Solution Get In Touch

Our Mission

We aim to eliminate lead exposure in water from household, Malagasy-made hand pumps in Toamasina, Madagascar. We have set out to do this through public health messaging, technician training and free pump-part replacement.

Public Health Messaging

Raising awareness about lead risks and safe water practices through community outreach and education programs.

Technician Training

Equipping local technicians with the skills to identify, and remediate lead-contaminated hand pumps.

Free Part Replacement

Replacing lead-containing components with safe, lead free alternatives at no cost to communities.

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Our Sustainable Approach

At its core, this is a training and education project. We work closely with our local partner, St. Gabriel, to build on solutions developed in partnership with local technicians and communities and ensure that our approach is practical for people to implement and sustain into the future.

Together we have set out to tackle the lead problem in 3 ways:

01

Education and Outreach

Raising awareness of the health risks of lead in drinking water is essential to the project's success. Many people in Madagascar are unaware of these risks, particularly the dangers to children and other vulnerable groups, just as many Americans were when lead components were commonly used in water systems in the United States. With your support, we will raise awareness through mass media campaigns and door-to-door education led by volunteer community health workers from the communities they serve.

02

Technician Training and Awareness

Technician training is central to the project because they largely determine which materials are used in the handpumps they build and repair.

We are training technicians through a peer-to-peer technician apprenticeship program: Unleaded pump technicians teach and train lead-using technicians AND replace leaded pumps parts with unleaded alternatives during routine repair and maintenance jobs already coming into their workshops.

03

Lead Pump Part Replacement

After technicians are trained, the project plans to replace the leaded pump parts that contribute most to lead in the water at no cost to pump owners. The goal is to bring water from all hand pumps in the project to below WHO guideline levels for lead.

Collaboration