From Evidence to Action: Addressing Pesticide Health Impacts and Strengthening National Response Systems

The FAO/GEF project has documented significant health impacts from pesticide use across Central Asia. Exposure assessments reveal a high prevalence of acute poisoning among agricultural workers, compounded by limited healthcare capacity—especially in rural areas—to diagnose, report, and manage cases.

This event translates these findings into a strategic framework for national action. It will present key evidence, showcase capacity-building successes, and highlight the central role of National Poison Information Centres as hubs for emergency response, toxicity surveillance, training, and advocacy. The session will conclude with a collaborative, country-focused workshop to draft roadmaps for integrating health protection into national pesticide management.

Main Objective

To mobilize high-level commitment for institutionalizing improved pesticide poison management and prevention, including the establishment of national poison centres and the integration of related training into sustainable government systems.

Expected Outcomes

• Increased awareness among decision-makers of the public health impacts of pesticide exposure.
• Clear understanding of the strategic health and economic value of investing in poison centres and continuous professional training.
• A consensus-based, multi-stakeholder roadmap to strengthen national healthcare responses to pesticide poisoning, detailing steps for specialized infrastructure and ongoing training.

Target Audience

• Decision-Makers: Senior officials from Ministries of Health, Agriculture, and Environment/Ecology from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Türkiye.
• Project Partners: National Project Teams, PSC Members, and implementing institution representatives.
• Health Sector Representatives: Directors of national medical institutes, hospital administrators, public health experts, and relevant national and international NGOs.

Structure of the Event

Agenda Overview: From Evidence to Action

This evidence-driven event will convene national decision-makers and health experts to translate critical research on pesticide exposure into a strategic framework for action. The day will begin with sessions that establish the scale of the challenge, featuring presentations on the socio-economic cost of inaction by Finbarr Horgan (FAO loaned-expert from the University of Edinburgh) and the critical link between sound pesticide management and public health outcomes by Prof Claudio Colosio (Immediate Former President, International Association of Rural Health and Medicine). Next, Prof Hanifa Denny (Chair of the scientific committee in Rural Health of the International Commission on Occupational Health) will deliver a presentation focusing on actionable strategies and insights for mitigating health impacts in farming communities.

Participants will then review key findings from the two-phase regional exposure assessments led by Sheila Willis (PAN UK), conducted in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan under the “Lifecycle Management of Pesticides and Disposal of POPs Pesticides in Central Asian countries and Türkiye” project. This session will highlight the prevalence of acute poisoning and critical gaps in surveillance.

Following the evidence review, the focus will shift to scalable solutions. Dr Burak Kurt (Public Health Specialist, Biocidal Association) will present the "Training of Trainers" model, implemented under the same project in the three countries, followed by Dr Onur Acar (Public Health Specialist, Biocidal Association) with an analysis of National Poison Centres as strategic platforms for data management and emergency response.

The agenda will feature a country experience presentation from Kazakhstan, where Saule Sharipova (Director of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Expertise Center) from Medical Center of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan will share practical lessons from the establishment and operation of their national poison centre, detailing its benefits to the health system and the challenges overcome.

The day will conclude with an interactive workshop focused on developing country-specific roadmaps. Through collaboration, participants will create actionable plans for integrating health safeguards into national frameworks, equipping them to advance regional resilience against pesticide-related health threats.

Collaborative Roadmapping Workshop

This dedicated workshop session will facilitate the co-creation of foundational, country-specific roadmaps. Through guided group work, participants will tackle key questions on integrating health data into policy, scaling up training for healthcare workers and farmers, and defining the requirements for establishing or strengthening a National Poison Centre. The session will conclude with a plenary synthesis of shared priorities and actionable next steps, ensuring each country departs with a clear direction for enhancing their national healthcare response.

Register Add to calendar