Lead deaths vs. wars + disasters combined
In 2023, lead poisoning killed more people than all active wars, natural disasters, road accidents, HIV, and malaria combined.
Snapshot · TED Talks Daily
The deadly threat affecting millions — and how to prevent it | Drew McCartor
Explore episode
Jul 10, 2026
Where this was said
Intro: Elise Hu Frames Lead Poisoning as a Solvable Crisis
At 0:21 · chapter starts 0:00
Elise Hu wastes no time setting the stakes: lead poisoning, a problem most Americans have filed away as history, is still actively destroying children's minds and bodies worldwide. She introduces Drew McCartor as the head of Pure Earth, a 2025 TED Audacious Project grantee working to prevent exposure to toxic pollutants globally. With a teaser of the key numbers — 2 million IQ points permanently lost in children every day, and more deaths than all wars, natural disasters, road accidents, HIV, and malaria combined — she primes listeners for a talk that is equal parts alarming and optimistic. The framing is deliberate: this is not a hopeless story, because Pure Earth has a proven model already working in more than 20 countries. Hu also promises a post-talk conversation with Audacious Project's Hasiba Haqq on why this work resonates even in places that think they've moved past lead as an issue.
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