With its intoxicating open-air spice markets, awe-inspiring landscapes – ranging from the Sahara Desert to the Atlas Mountains – and stunning ancient architecture, Morocco has a unique charm. However, like most developing countries, it must contend with challenges stemming from rapid modernization, including threats to public health caused by the increased use of public health and hygiene pesticides (PHHP).
In response to this issue, the government of Morocco is embarking on a multifaceted, three-year project with the Chemicals and Waste Management Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to strengthen its institutional capacity to manage PHHPs. The project will better protect the health of the country’s 36 million people and allow Morocco to fulfil its obligations as a party to the Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Minamata Conventions, protective UN instruments that deal with key aspects of chemicals and waste management
Boosting training and technical support
PHHPs, such as insecticides, rodenticides and disinfectants, are used to control vector-borne diseases and nuisances, but they present a significant risk to human and environmental health. Strengthening regulations concerning these chemicals, better knowledge of their risks and improved management will have important positive repercussions on public health.
Morocco’s Technical Pesticide Evaluation Committee, which plays a key role in regulating pesticides, has not received the training and technical support necessary to carry out its responsibilities. Thus, its lack of up-to-date knowledge surrounding best practices for pesticide management has opened an avenue for hazardous pesticides to be imported and used widely within the country.
Another challenge is that while Morocco has a system in place for reporting pesticide poisoning, there is insufficient information to establish the type of pesticides that are at the origin of these poisonings, including those that could be deemed highly hazardous. Because of this, while approximately 1,285 people suffer from pesticide poisoning each year, there is not enough data to link it to PHHPs.
This problem is compounded by inadequate controls at Morocco’s borders to identify and log PHHPs imported into the country. Just as problematic, PHHPs accumulate year after year in both health services and municipal hygiene offices, and the disposal of empty packaging for such pesticides is not properly managed.
Partnership with UNEP
The project’s first focus is reinforcing the Technical Pesticide Evaluation Committee’s capacity to comply with international conventions so that it can better safeguard public health. Committee members will benefit from technical visits with international peers recognized for effective pesticide management as part of this effort.
With this training, committee members can update Morocco’s procedure for authorizing the import, manufacture and marketing of formulations of PHHPs by private companies. These updated procedures are crucial to preventing potentially hazardous pesticides from making their way to the public.
Another cornerstone of the project is improving the regulations by which private-sector companies should abide. As these companies sell or use PHHPs, they are also responsible for protecting public health.
For example, pesticide-spreading equipment is currently not subject to any control and verification. To remedy this and other gaps in pesticide management, a working group established by the government will develop a national standard for pesticide-spreading equipment, draft approval procedures for relevant companies and establish guidelines for the storage, labelling and packaging of public health and hygiene pesticides.
Enhanced management
Building on this momentum, the Moroccan government, through the Ministry of Health, will conduct a national survey to determine the types of highly hazardous pesticides for both agricultural and public use that are circulating within the country. This is critical in establishing the incidence of adverse effects on human health linked to pesticides, including poisoning. Once the list has been validated, those deemed highly hazardous will be banned by the government.
Armed with a list of highly hazardous pesticides, Morocco will then be able to meet another core aim of the project: developing and implementing control procedures for PHHPs on import. The strengthening of its import procedures will help the government avoid inadvertently accepting banned pesticides that may have been shipped by developed countries as a means of disposal or to sell to private businesses.
Increasing the capacities of Ministry of Health staff to sensitize both the public and private sector on the sound management of pesticides is an equally important aim of the project. As part of this objective, a detailed guide will be developed to assist staff in conducting successful awareness-raising campaigns. This resource will be complemented by a management guide focused on safely collecting and securing obsolete stocks of PHHPs.
Through these initiatives, the government of Morocco will significantly enhance its ability to manage pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals, to improve public health.
For further information, please contact the Special Programme Secretariat at unepchemicalsspecialprogramme@un.org
