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FAO has supported several national and regional programmes to tackle HHPs in Africa, Caribbean, Latin America, South East Asia and Pacific.

Africa

• Botswana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe are following the process of identification, risk assessment and risk mitigation of HHPs.
• In Togo an environmental risks management evaluation of pesticide is ongoing, as well as capacity building on severely hazardous pesticide formulation (SHPF) evaluation methods.
• In East and Southern Africa, regional strategies in addressing HHPs are under development.
• In West and Central Africa work is ongoing to identify and phase out HHPs in some CILSS countries.
• The Secretariat of Rotterdam Convention (RC) collected a list of registered HHPs and available alternatives in the African region. The damages of fenthion on human health and the environment were assessed and available alternatives for quela birds control in Africa were identified.

Caribbean and Latin America

• 299 HHPs products out of more than 2 873 registered pesticides in Antigua & Barbuda, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines have been identified.
• Capacity building programmes are ongoing in 11 islands, as well as cooperation with academia and civil society on alternatives to HHPs.
• In Saint Lucia under ACP MEAs 3  a review and update of criteria and protocols for control of pesticides imports is in preparation. This will include identifying HHPs that are registered in Saint Lucia but are not actually being imported or used, and making recommendations for their deregistration.
• In Bolivia, a baseline identification of HHPs has been carried out.
• Ecuador has reviewed more than 2000 registered pesticide formulations to determine if they meet the criteria for HHPs.
• The RC has delivered online training to Rotterdam Convention Designated National Authorities (DNAs) to strengthen capacities for the submission of Final Regulatory Actions and SHPFs, as well as capacity building on risk assessment for pesticides evaluation and management

Asia and the Pacific

• In China, the risk assessment and phasing out process has started, and collaboration with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on risk assessment and training organized. In March 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of China announced the ban for 4 active substances: phorate, isofenphos-methyl, isocarbophos, and ethoprophos.
• In Myanmar, the identification process identified HHPs in use and discussions are ongoing on measures to reduce the risks of these pesticides. 
• In Laos and Sri Lanka, the RC supported field surveys on HHPs and SHPFs, which led to the identification of HHPs and submission of proposals for SHPFs under the Convention, as well as risk reduction measures by the national authorities.
• In collaboration with the Asia and Pacific Plant Protection Commission (APPPC), the RC periodically organizes regional workshops and training for countries with new or additional DNAs, or experiencing difficulties in meeting their basic obligations under the Convention.
• FAO has supported national authorities in Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga to identify and promote alternatives to HHPs.
• A two-year technical cooperation project is ongoing to promote ecologically-based alternatives to HHPs to enhance food safety and security in the Pacific region.
• FAO and the Secretariat for the Pacific Islands (SPC) are working on the establishment of the Pacific Regional Pesticide Registration Scheme.
• In 2021 FAO carried out a survey on situation of HHPs in 13 Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Singapore. The review was done by evaluating the registered pesticides against the 1 - 7 criteria for HHPs established by FAO and WHO along with national identification of HHPs. The study found about 3557 pesticide products (active ingredients) to control pests on crops and for public health uses, and 214 HHPs among them. An analysis of the list of registered formulated products revealed that 61 different active ingredients are included in these 214 registered HHPs in Asian countries.

Near East and North Africa (NENA)

A 2022 FAO review on registered pesticides according to the criteria 1–8 for HHPs of FAO/WHO Guidelines on HHPs highlights that:

• The total number of pesticides registered and used in NENA region is 642 active ingredients (IA).
• 89 HHPs are still in use in NENA region and 50% of them are evaluated under 1–7 criteria of GHS HHPs. This evaluation shows that 50% of HHPs are insecticides, 22% fungicides, 10% herbicides, 8% nematocides, and 10% rodenticides. The remaining 38 HHPs are identified under criteria 8
• The highest number of registered pesticides is in Tunisia, which is equivalent to 18% of the grand total, followed by Palestine at (17%), Jordan at (15%), Iraq at (14%), GC countries (SAUDI Aribia KSA, United Arab Emirates UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman) at (13%), Egypt at (12%), Yemen at (6%), and Lebanon (5%).
• The use of pesticides is still not under control or restriction in most of the NENA countries; the use by farmers in rural area is still not compatible with safety precaution measures for agricultural workers.
• The number of biocides registered is increasing, especially in the Arab Gulf countries, Jordan, and Tunisia.