Citation

Konradsen F, van der Hoek W, Gunnell D, Eddleston M. Bull. World Health Organ. 2005; 83(2): 157-158.

Affiliation

Department of International Health, Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark. f.konradsen@pubhealth.ku.dk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, World Health Organization)

DOI

/S0042-96862005000200018

PMID

15744410

PMCID

PMC1764869

Abstract

Since the middle of the last century, pesticides have become an integral component of the world's attempt to increase agricultural output and decrease vector-borne disease. However, the benefits of pesticides have come at a cost and their continued use is the frequent subject of debate. The Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS), established in 1994 following the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED, the Earth Summit), was charged with identifying priorities for action on chemical safety and reducing the hazards associated with chemical use. IFCS takes the position that substantial use of pesticides is essential to achieve sustainable development. It attempts, however, to find strategies to mitigate the adverse effects that pesticides may have on human health and the environment. IFCS's most recent meeting -- Forum IV -- took place in Bangkok in November 2003. Major topics for discussion included the safety of children, occupational safety and health, capacity building in the developing world, and acutely toxic pesticides.

Since a report from WHO and UNEP in 1990, the scale of the problem caused by acutely toxic pesticides has been readily apparent. The report estimated that more than 3 million people were hospitalized for pesticide poisoning every year and that 220 000 died; it particularly noted that two-thirds of hospitalizations and the majority of deaths were attributable to intentional self-poisoning rather than to occupational or accidental poisoning. Recent studies from Asia suggest that as many as 300,000 deaths from pesticide self-poisoning may occur in the Asia-Pacific region every year. The easy availability and lack of safe storage of pesticides in the homes of the rural poor mean that many acts of self-harm, at moments of acute distress, have fatal and sometimes unintended consequences. We call upon IFCS to recognize that globally most pesticide deaths occur following self-poisoning. Self-poisoning needs to be acknowledged as a major problem of chemical safety -- one that affects pesticide-using communities in the developing world and one that can be reduced with concentrated effort. Perhaps greater involvement of WHO and ministries of health, not just ministries of agriculture or environment, in drawing up treaties such as the Rotterdam Convention will improve understanding of these important health issues.