The deadly threat affecting millions — and how to prevent it

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Drew McCartor |

TED2026

• April 2026

Lead poisoning robs the world's kids of millions of IQ points a day and kills more people than wars, natural disasters and road accidents combined — yet we treat it as a problem we've already solved. Drew McCartor, who runs the nonprofit Pure Earth, has spent nearly two decades proving it doesn't have to be this way. He presents their three-step fix that's already working in places from Georgia to Ghana, and makes the case that we can finally beat a crisis hiding in plain sight. (This ambitious idea is part of The Audacious Project, TED’s initiative to inspire and fund global change.)