[Correspondence] Lead poisoning in southeast Asia: an urgent call for action

Lead poisoning remains one of the world's most significant yet preventable environmental health threats. It accounts for 1·5% of annual global deaths1 and disproportionately affects those in southeast Asia, which has more than 20% of the world's children who are affected by lead.2 In this region, exposure to lead is concentrated in lower-income economies: 1·6% of children in Thailand have blood lead concentrations above the WHO threshold of 5 μg/dL,3 which is similar to high-income countries. By comparison, 79·4% of children in neighbouring Cambodia are estimated to exceed this threshold.