Madagascar strengthening public’s protection from hazardous chemicals

For many, Madagascar is a dream destination, topping the most imaginative bucket list. Located off the southeast coast of Africa and measuring 587,000 square kilometers, it is the fourth largest island in the world. [i] On its vast landscape, one can travel from a desert to a rainforest within just 300 kilometers, and if given the opportunity, also see sandstone canyons after gazing at long stretches of coastline showing off turquoise waters. But the scenery almost seems unexciting when you consider what makes Madagascar particularly biodiverse: approximately 90 percent of the island country’s wildlife is found nowhere else on earth. [ii]

Yet unfortunately, Madagascar’s beauty and wealth of natural resources is overshadowed by its environmental challenges, which threaten the health of its animals and plants and are currently wreaking havoc on its 25.6 million inhabitants. [iii] A staggering one in three people are expected to die prematurely because of exposure to pollution, including contaminated air, water, and soil. [iv]

Although little data is available on the prevalence of exposures to chemical contamination in Madagascar, government authorities believe that many of these pollution-related deaths stem from the mismanagement of chemicals. For example, the government is aware of misuse of pesticides in the agricultural sector, that mining exploitation such as gold mining involves the uncontrolled use of mercury, and that thermal power stations discharge used oil into the sewage system—all of which pose known hazards to human health. [v]

This knowledge and the government’s desire to build on its existing management of chemicals has led to the launch of 3-year project backed by the United Nations Environment Programme’s Chemicals and Waste Management Programme. While the project has four objectives, its overarching goal is to reduce the harmful effects of mismanaged chemicals on Madagascar’s population and to preserve the country’s environment.

The Malagasy government’s first objective is to develop a national framework to prevent threats related to the misuse of chemicals in relevant sectors such as agriculture, health, industry, and customs. Although the country is already party to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions and Minamata Convention, it is not fully compliant with these pacts because of a lack of national standards and policies the whole of government should adhere to. A national framework will provide a firmer foundation to support existing and new efforts focused on chemicals management.

Experts on chemicals management will be charged with drafting the framework, which will include standards for the specification and permissible content of chemical substances contained in products and foodstuffs. The standards will be buoyed by standard operating procedures for the prevention and response to chemical events and accidents for all stakeholders involved in chemicals management.

Securing the medical equipment to respond to and analyse chemical events is the project’s second objective. Hence, the project makes possible portable equipment to detect contaminants such as lead, cadmium, and arsenic that can be found in water or the human body.[DA1] [CK2]  Additionally, medical equipment that can monitor the level and rate of chemicals exposure in sick persons is anticipated. For example, equipment that detects the amount of mercury in a person’s hair will likely be procured.

But for the government to fully counter the threat of chemicals exposure on the public, working collaboratively with medical professionals is key. In recognition of this, the government will support hospitals to improve their registration systems that track patients’ cause of death. To kick start this effort, one or two pilot hospitals will receive the same equipment government health authorities will use to analyse chemicals exposure. This will help these and future hospitals to establish reports of people who have died or been contaminated by the harmful effects of chemicals. Armed now with both equipment and data, the Malagasy government can truly understand the severity of chemicals exposure on the public.

The third project objective is to enhance the knowledge and skills of the many stakeholders charged with safeguarding the public from chemical-related threats. These include the intersectoral implementation committees of the BRS Conventions and the Minamata Convention, Madagascar’s national chemicals observatory committee, and staff within relevant ministries such as the environment, health, customs, transport, and mining. Although most of these stakeholders have technical skills in the field of environmental science, not all are chemicals specialists nor trained in the sound management of the chemicals, making capacity building in this area vital for the success of the entire project. Thus, planned trainings include those surroundings risk detection and assessment, decontamination of contaminated sites, risk communication, and the care of victims of chemical incidents and accidents.

Objective four focuses on improving the country’s collective chemical risk communication. This will be facilitated by creating a system for the exchange of information between key actors in this project. Along with the information exchange system, educational communication tools will be developed. Communications materials such as short videos and documentaries will help a wide range of government decision makers increase their understanding of the importance of chemicals management. Other communications tools, such as posters and brochures, will boost the public’s knowledge of health threats faced from hazardous chemicals while also teaching them best practices to follow.

Given the project’s multi-faceted approach to preventing and responding to chemical-related threats, Madagascar will soon be more equipped to safeguard its population’s health, from the young to the old, as well as the island country’s rare animals and plants.

For further information, please contact the Special Programme Secretariat at unepchemicalsspecialprogramme@un.org