Editorial : A cause for Alarm Poisoning our Children

A group of children were playing with excitement. They had their own toys collected from the dustbin. They had tins of corn beef which were as sharp as razor blade. Old tins of peak milk which had very foul smell, used can of pesticides and most dangerous of all, used batteries.

The children were not conscious of the implications for using such objects as toys. Those around them hardly took notice. The deadliest picture is when one of the small children took a battery and starts to put it in his mouth. One had to intervene to talk to the children about the dangers of all the objects they were using as toys. Our dilemma came when we considered the options for the children after giving them our advice. It was clear that if the children got rid of all the dangerous toys they would not have any toys at all. That is clearly not an option. However we also do not have adequate toys to give them. They are also not the only children using scraps as toys which are dangerous to their health. The problem of dangerous toys is therefore a social problem which should attract the attention of government and all child right organisations. There is need for a nation wide sensitization on how to dispose of used cans containing hazardous chemicals
 and other objects which contain poisonous substances. The National Environmental Agency should be at the forefront of this public education campaign to protect the lives of our children.
They should develop partnership with UNICEF, the Social Welfare Department, The Department for Basic Education and other Children organisations to help the nation to know how to dispose of batteries and other hazardous wastes and protect our children from ill health.


NGOs should also emerge to assist in the venture of providing appropriate toys to Gambian Children. This is an urgent campaign if we are not going to have mysterious deaths and illnesses among children which may very well emanate from poisoning as a result of using objects like batteries and mosquito spraying cans as toys.






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