Galamsey is destroying Ghana’s cognitive future – One IQ point at a time
When we discuss galamsey, attention usually centres on the poisoned rivers, devastated forests, ruined cocoa farms and enormous pits left across the landscape. The post Galamsey is destroying Ghana’s cognitive future – One IQ point at a time appeared first on Ghana Business News .
Ghana's cognitive future is under threat due to the destructive practice of galamsey, or illegal small-scale gold mining. While the environmental damage caused by galamsey is readily apparent, another hidden consequence may be silently eroding the intellectual potential of the nation's children. As mercury is used in the mining process to extract gold, it contaminates rivers, soil, and water, ultimately entering the food chain and accumulating in aquatic organisms.
Exposure to mercury can lead to severe cognitive impairment, kidney damage, visual and speech problems, and lifelong disability. This is especially concerning for pregnant women, unborn babies, and young children, whose developing brains and nervous systems are particularly vulnerable. A loss of one IQ point in a single individual may seem insignificant, but when averaged across a population, even a slight decline can have far-reaching consequences.
With a standard IQ range of 100, a decrease from 100 to 99 could increase the proportion of people scoring below 70 by 17%, reduce those scoring above 130 by 15%, and increase the number of children needing additional educational assistance. The economic impact of diminished intelligence is also significant, affecting learning, reasoning, memory, problem-solving, workplace performance, productivity, innovation, technical competence, national income, and the quality of decisions made in various institutions.
In the long term, a generation of Ghanaian children suffering from even a small average decline in cognitive performance due to mercury exposure could have lasting repercussions for decades. Ghana's aspiration to become a knowledge-based economy hinges on the collective intelligence, health, and competence of its people. Physical infrastructure can be rebuilt, but the damage to children's developing brains may be irreversible.
Therefore, it is unacceptable to continue allowing toxic substances to enter the bodies and brains of Ghana's children while pursuing economic growth.
Written by urgent.news from Ghana Business News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
