India and Bangladesh Ban Paraquat Nationwide: WHO Welcomes the Move, Saying It Is Expected to Save Thousands of Lives
The World Health Organization has welcomed national bans on the highly toxic pesticide paraquat in India and Bangladesh, calling the two countries' September decisions a major step for suicide prevention and brain health that is expected to save thousands of lives. Paraquat, a widely used herbicide, is acutely toxic, has no specific antidote, and has been linked to suicide, Parkinson's disease and occupational risks for farmers.
India's government issued an order on September 22 under the Insecticides Act prohibiting the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of paraquat dichloride and cancelling existing registration certificates. Bangladesh announced a six-month phase-out on September 30: new imports, registrations and licence renewals have been stopped, and existing stocks must be used up within six months. A study published in Bangladesh this year found a significant rise in paraquat self-poisoning cases and deaths, with a case fatality rate of about 40 percent.
WHO estimates that 15 to 20 percent of suicides worldwide stem from deliberate ingestion of acutely toxic pesticides, equivalent to up to 140,000 deaths a year, and it counts national bans on such highly hazardous pesticides among the most cost-effective interventions for mental health. WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization have published regulatory guidance to help pesticide registrars and policymakers phase out these products.
Paraquat had already been banned in more than 70 countries, including across the European Union since 2007. WHO said the decisions by India and Bangladesh set an important precedent for the rest of the world, and that the first International Conference of the Global Framework on Chemicals, taking place this month, will advance the global target of phasing highly hazardous pesticides out of agriculture.
(Source: World Health Organization)
Source: World Health Organization
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：农田里喷洒农药的作业场景（资料图）。Michael Hermann 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Pesticide spraying in a field (file photo). By Michael Hermann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
