The government will fund further medical examinations for children with elevated blood lead levels, Amiran Gamkrelidze, Director General of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health, told reporters on Tuesday. According to him, of the 1 578 children who were tested, 650 had elevated blood lead levels.

“The state will finance interventions, too. The health intervention mainly includes giving them iron, calcium supplements and vitamins. According to the program, the state will fund all this. At the same time, the four ministries, including the ministries of Health, Environment, Agriculture and Infrastructure and Economics should develop a long-term program,” Gamkrelidze said.

According to the current study, 25% of children in Georgia have slightly elevated blood lead levels, while 16% of children have relevantly high lead levels in their blood, the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health said on Tuesday. The National Center for Disease Control and Public Health said that a total of 1 578 children from 2 to 7 years participated in the study.

“According to the study results, the lead level in 25 percent of children was 5-10 micrograms/dL, while 16 percent of children have > or = 10 micrograms/dL,” the NCDC said.