Lead Exposure Elimination Project

LEEP is an impact-driven, evidence-based nonprofit that aims to eliminate childhood lead poisoning, which affects an estimated one in three children worldwide. We primarily focus on one important source of exposure: lead paint. Our paint programs involve generating data, supporting governments with the introduction and enforcement of regulation, and assisting manufacturers in switching to lead-free paints. Beyond our paint programs, we are piloting interventions to address other sources of lead exposure, such as spices and cosmetics.

Since our founding in September 2020:

• We have initiated lead paint elimination programs in 40 countries; completed 33 paint studies; and agreed on goals to establish lead paint regulation with government agencies in 18 (e.g., Angola).
• We’ve made crucial progress in engaging with manufacturers in 22 countries (e.g., Pakistan), and in reducing the lead paint market share in Ghana, Malawi and Pakistan.
• Founders Pledge estimates that it costs $1.66 to prevent one child’s lead exposure (in expectation) through our work, making LEEP one of its most cost-effective nonprofit recommendations. Our own analysis estimates that it costs under $5 to avert one DALY equivalent through LEEP’s first 13 established programs.
• We are a partner of the WHO and UN Environment Programme's Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint and a member of the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future.
• We have received grants from major grantmaking organisations, including Founders Pledge, Coefficient Giving, Bloomberg Philanthropies, USAID, and Schmidt Futures.
• We have appeared in Nature, Vox, Time Magazine, The New Yorker, Prospect, on the 80,000 Hours Podcast, and our co-founders were named in Vox’s Future Perfect 50.