Guidelines on public health pesticide management policy for the WHO African region
Overview
These guidelines are intended to provide national policy-makers in the WHO African Region with critical elements to develop and/or strengthen national policy for the management of public health pesticides, such as pesticides used for vector control, household pesticides and pesticides used by pest control operators. Issues and driving forces that may instigate national policy development are discussed, and guidance is provided on the process of policy formulation, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.
The guidelines focus on development of policy that is formulated by a government and implemented under the overall responsibility of a government. They do not provide specific advice on technical aspects relating to use and management of public health pesticides, for which separate guidance documents exist. However, references to such technical documents are provided.
While it is recognized that most pesticide products used for public health purposes are insecticides, other types of pesticides are also used (e.g. repellents, rodenticides, molluscicides). Therefore, the more generic term “public health pesticide” is used throughout these guidelines, rather than “public health insecticide”.
The objectives of these guidelines are:
- to present issues in life-cycle management of public health pesticides in the WHO African Region, which may require formulation or strengthening of relevant national policy;
- to provide guidance on the process of national policy formulation, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation;
- to present options for policy instruments that may be incorporated into national policy for public health pesticide management.
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