Community–academic partnerships helped Flint through its water crisis

E. Yvonne Lewis is founder and chief executive of the National Center for African American Health Consciousness, Flint; co-community principal investigator at the Flint Center for Health Equity Solutions; co-director of the Healthy Flint Research Coordinating Center Community Core; and director of outreach, Genesee Health Plan, Flint, Michigan, USA.

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Residents of Flint, Michigan, attended community blood-testing events in 2016 after lead contamination was found in the city’s water supply. Credit: Brett Carlsen/Getty

Flint in Michigan is infamous for its water crisis. From 2014, the state government decided to divert the city’s water supply through ageing pipes that contained lead, a neurotoxin, making many people unwell and leading to some deaths. Residents were left searching out water that was safe for drinking, washing and bathing. Nine public officials face criminal negligence charges around wilful neglect of duty and for allegedly concealing and misrepresenting data. A US$640-million class-action lawsuit is moving its way through the courts.

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