SOEH International Conference on Pesticide Exposure and Health-8-12 July 2002 TO EQUIP COUNTRIES WITH THE BEST KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY TO ENSURE THE HEALTH OF ALL THEIR POPULATIONS Dr. Terri Damstra, WHO/UNEP/ILO International Programme on Chemical Safety , Research Triangle Park, NC

WHO-TASK FORCE FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN’S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH GLOBAL STRUCTURE FOR HEALTH PROMOTION EXISTING DIVERSE NETWORKING ARRANGEMENTS ACCESS TO TECHNICAL EXPERTS INTERNATIONAL MANDATES GOVERNMENTAL COMMITTMENTS

WHO –CEH PARTNERSHIPS HEADQUARTERS—PHE, CAH, NHD,POV,ETC. WHO REGIONAL OFFICES, EHCS, COUNTRY OFFICES, COLLABORATING CENTERS UN, INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL(Ministries, Donors) ORGANIZATIONS. NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGAN.

Task Force Strategy FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS THAT CAUSE THE GREATEST GLOBAL BURDEN OF DISEASE IN CHILDREN-MUST BE EVIDENCE-BASED ALLOW FOR SPECIFIC PROJECTS TO BE ADAPTED TO INDIVIDUAL COUNTRY AND REGIONAL NEEDS

WHO TASK FORCE FOR CHILDREN’S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WWW.WHO.INT/PHE/CEH To translate the words of international agreements and declarations into action To use all our knowledge to make a lasting difference World Health Day- 7 April 2003 Healthy Environments for Healthy Children

Global burden of disease Over 30% due to environmental factors Over 40 % of this burden falls on children under 5 years 11 million children <5 ( 97% in developing countries) die annually-over 90 % of these deaths are preventable >600 million children live in poverty

THREATS TO CHILDREN : THE DOUBLE BURDEN OF DISEASE EMERGING EPIDEMICS OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES NEW THREATS AIR POLLUTION PESTICIDES Injuries, Traffic accidents Neurodevelopmental, learning, and behavioral disorders Cancer Endocrine disruption Persistent problems- UNFINISHED AGENDA” Infectious diseases Acute Respiratory infections Malaria Measles Diarrhea HIV/AIDS...

Global Priority Concerns POVERTY Lead, pesticides, and other pollutants Infectious diseases Vector-borne diseases Child labour Access to clean drinking water Indoor/Outdoor air pollution Poisonings(pesticideinjuries /accidents Malnutrition and food safety

HEALTH IMPACT OF PESTICIDES SOME NUMBERS... Global agrochemical market Is it still increasing? 25% of sales in developing countries

HEALTH IMPACT OF PESTICIDES SOME NUMBERS... Global agrochemical market Is it still increasing? 35% of sales in developing countries

HEALTH IMPACT OF PESTICIDES Global agrochemical market split per region

WHO-Pesticide Related Activities-www.inchem.org EVALUATION OF RISKS EVALUATION OF MEDICAL INFORMATION SURVEILLANCE OF HEALTH EFFECTS and PREVENTION OF EXPOSURE AWARENESS RAISING/CAPACITY BUILDING PROMOTION OF RESEARCH

PESTICIDES-EVALUATION OF RISKS Pesticide residues in food- FAO/WHO Joint meetings on pesticide residues WHO Classification of pesticides by hazard Risk assessment of specific pesticides-EHCs,CICADs, ICSCs, PESTICIDE DATA SHEETS Guidelines/principles for risk assesment

WHO-Pesticides Evaluation of Medical Information Effectiveness of antidotes Poison information monographs Surveillance of health effects Epidemiology of Human Pesticide Exposure assessment Harmonized data collection Network poison control centers

Global, multilingual, interactive computerized information management package, with controlled vocabulary and classification systems Methodology adaptable to the need of harmonized paediatric/environmental data collection 1. DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 2. CD-ROM DATA-BANK ON CHEMICALS, CLINICAL EFFECTS AND TREATMENT 3. GLOBAL NETWORK OF POISON CONTROL/TOXICOLOGY CENTRES( OVER 100 IN 75 COUNTRIES

RECOMMENDATIONS Coordinated, harmonized data collection at national, regional, and international level Developing indicators and promoting common risk assessment methodologies Develop realistic prevention/intervention strategies at country level Awareness raising, education, capacity building

Prevention of exposure is the single most effective means of protecting children against environmental threats