Childhood pesticide poisoning: information for advocacy and action

This report is intended as a campaigning tool directed at reducing pesticide poisoning and addressing its effects on children and women. Thousands of tonnes of unused pesticide are improperly stored throughout many developing countries, posing a serous health risk, especially to women and children.The report highlights the severity of the health risk associated with the global unused pesticide:children are often more vulnerable than adults to the effects of pesticides due to smaller size, greater rates of exposure to food, soil, water, and air, and rapidly growing and developing organ systemsin addition, inexperience, lack of maturity, illiteracy and an inability to assess risk make children more likely to accidentally ingest pesticidespesticides are known to cause millions of acute poisoning cases per year, of which at least one million require hospitalisation. Other key health risks include cancer, birth defects, and damage to the nervous systembetween one and three agricultural workers per every 100 worldwide suffer from acute pesticide poisoning, and adolescents are often the victims. However, the contribution of pesticides to chronic diseases is unknown.The report suggests a number of strategies to combat the current global pesticide health problem:more awareness-raising is needed about risks, especially from the most acutely toxic pesticides, since adverse effects on children are completely preventablestrategies to combat the risks to pesticide exposure should be designed for the local level and supported nationally, regionally and internationallystrategies should be sensitive to differing cultural, political, economic, technological and development circumstancesstrategies should include research activities on how to develop effective economic and legal instruments. As well as ensuring that the public is informed, health conditions are monitored and, where necessary, treatment programs are establishedTo be effective such actions must be supported at all levels of government. At the international level a number of agreements - including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and Agenda 21 - call for action to protect children and the environment from the negative effects of human activities.[adapted from author]