Nepal Public Health Foundation in collaboration with The One Health Trust and The Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP) organized a workshop on “Antimicrobial Resistance and Vaccines “at the Yellow Pagoda Hotel, Kathmandu on 11th January, 2024.
Antimicrobial Resistance, a silent epidemic, as stated by the World Health Organization requires immediate action from all the actors. Vaccines are highly effective tools for containment of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as they prevent infections, lessen antimicrobial use thereby mitigate the development and spread of AMR.
Promoting vaccines as an effective tool to combat AMR is the aim of the program. The workshop was well attended by the experts from both human health and animal health sector.
As we all know Jajarkot has been facing a great humanitarian crisis because of the hit of an earthquake of magnitude 6.4 on 3rd Nov. The Global Health Network Nepal center has taken initiative for advocating for the national priority issue; earthquake jolts in West Nepal.
We organized a discussion meeting with the distinguished experts in the field of Public Health at Nepal Public Health Foundation on” Disaster Management and Public Health Response” with the agenda of understanding the recent scenario, the future probability of the disaster, and the role of public health experts regarding earthquake preparedness and disaster management.
Nepal Public Health Foundation under the Project Farming Health and Environment Nepal conducted a webinar on “Use of Pesticides in Agriculture, its negative Impacts on Ecology and measures for its Minimization”.
The presentation was given by Mr. Subodh Khanal, Vice Principle at Gauradaha Agriculture Campus and Institute of Agriculture and animal science on “Pesticide its use, negative impact and measures to reduce its impact on health and environment”
We were delighted to have a very insightful session provided by Prof Dr. Sharad Raj Onta on Advocacy, Founding General Secretary, NPHF and CSC member FHEN.
Pesticides are chemicals that are used to control or eliminate pests, including insects, weeds, fungi, and rodents, among others. While pesticides can be effective in managing pests and increasing crop yields, they also have harmful impacts on the environment and human health.
Pesticide retailers are responsible for selling pesticides to end-users, while pesticide sprayers are individuals involved in the application of pesticides. The use of pesticides in agriculture plays a crucial role in ensuring crop protection and productivity. Pesticides are used widely for crop protection, pest control, and disease management, but their misuse can have serious health and environmental consequences. However, the safe and responsible use of pesticides requires effective monitoring and regulation of both pesticide retailers and pesticide sprayers. Monitoring and regulating these entities are vital to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and ensure compliance with legal and safety requirements.
The review program was conducted to evaluate the existing policies and regulations governing the registration and monitoring of pesticide retailers and sprayers and also to identify gaps in the current system and suggest improvement that can help enhance the effectiveness of the monitoring and registration processes.
Objectives of the program
To foster collaboration among relevant stakeholders for effective monitoring and registration system
To ensure the safe and responsible use of pesticides by strengthening monitoring and registration processes.
To discuss issues related to registration and monitoring of pesticides retailers and sprayers.
To identify any gaps or shortcomings in the monitoring and registration processes.
To assess the effectiveness and adequacy of the current policies and regulations governing the monitoring and registration of pesticide retailers and sprayers.
Participants
Chief of District Coordination Committee
Agriculture Officers of respective municipalities
Chief of Agriculture Knowledge center
Cooperative representatives of respective municipalities.
Opening and welcoming session:
Seema B.K., project officer, welcomed the attendees and thanked them for their presence and acknowledged the need of effective monitoring and registration of pesticide retailers and sprayers. She introduced the chief guest for the meeting, Narayan Prasad Adhikari, chief of District Coordination Committee and chaired all of the participants in their respective positions.
Remarks from the chief Guest
He pointed use of pesticides as vital part of modern agriculture, enabling farmers and growers to produce higher yields and better quality of crops but the potential health and environmental risks associated with the use of pesticides cannot be ignored. It is, therefore, essential to have robust monitoring and registration procedures in place to ensure the safe and responsible use of pesticides. He stressed towards need ofrecognition the importance of this issue and taking the initiative to evaluate the existing policies and regulations governing the registration and monitoring of pesticide retailers and sprayers. It is essential to review these policies and regulations regularly to ensure that they remain effective and up-to-date with the latest scientific and technological advances.
He wished the organizers every success in this endeavor, and look forward to seeing the outcomes of this review program contribute towards a safer and more sustainable use of pesticides agriculture and other sectors.
Review of trainings and follow up to sprayers and retailers conducted by FHEN
Ms. Samana Sharma, Project manager gave short insights of project and about the previous training conducted by FHEN to pesticide retailers and sprayers. She shared change in knowledge percentage of participants in pre and post test of trainings. She also shared experience and changes of pesticide retailers and sprayers observed during follow up.
Monitoring and Registration of Pesticide Retailers and sprayers
Min Bahadur Pun, deputy chief of AKC (Agriculture Knowledge Center) facilitated this session and major highlights of this session were:
Expressed positive aspect of Nepal Public Health Foundation towards pesticide minimization.
Criteria for registration of pesticide retailers:
Must be S.L.C passed.
Should give application to AKC.
AKC act as coordinating organization to recommend application to central level and to provide training.
Retailers training is of 6 days provided from central level staff of PQPMC (Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Committee)
And finally, license is provided to them after fulfilling all of this process.
Group and cooperatives are kept in top priority for training recommendation.
Nowadays cooperatives are also in the position of providing pesticide and seed service and some of them are providing pesticide service by employing agriculture technician.
Issues in Registration and license
More number of application but limited registration.
Province can coordinate for 1 person quarterly i.e., 3 persons per year for registration.
License renewal process is tightened from the central level i.e., pesticide must be present in documentation and PAN of any organization (cooperatives) or individual to get license. For example, Shyam Vet forma cannot sell pesticides but Shyam agrovet form can do.
License renewal: Should register application in AKC along with all documents and PAN and AKC recommend it to PQPMC and renewal should be done at every 2 years.
Registration of Pesticide Sprayers.
Mentioned in act but not in practice in province and district level.
Need of Pesticide sprayers to be license holders and farmers must employ them for spraying pesticides for safety.
Through effective coordination with all stakeholders, local level solely can implement it in future and can set an example through sprayer registration program and implementation.
Monitoring:
The monitoring of pesticides primarily falls under the responsibility of pesticide inspectors, specifically plant protection officers; however, their numbers are currently insufficient to meet the demand. Additionally, it is recommended that only licensed individuals should be permitted to sell pesticides, and in the event of unauthorized sales, a warning should be issued for the first offense, followed by penalties administered by pesticide inspectors for repeated violations.
Discussion
The Agriculture officer of Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality emphasized the importance of proper identification and recommendation from the local level when it comes to pesticide retailer training. They stressed that while such training may or may not currently require a recommendation, making it compulsory to obtain a recommendation from the local level would greatly enhance the effectiveness of identifying suitable individuals or groups for the training program. The involvement of the local level in recommending suitable candidates for the training program promotes a more targeted and tailored approach. It allows for the identification of individuals or groups who have a genuine interest in becoming pesticide retailers and have the potential to contribute positively to the agricultural sector.
The Agriculture officer of Ratnanagar Municipality emphasized that both policy implementation and support for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be compulsory alongside awareness to ensure effective safety measures.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the review program on the monitoring and registration of pesticide retailers and sprayers highlighted the need for robust monitoring procedures, effective registration systems, policy implementation, and support for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The discussions emphasized the importance of regular policy reviews, training programs, criteria for registration, and licensing of pesticide retailers and sprayers. The involvement of cooperatives and local-level recommendations was also recognized. The program provided valuable insights and recommendations for improved collaborations and sustainable pesticide management practices.
Nepal Public Health Institute has organized a virtual webinar and panel discussion titled “Sustainable Farming: Minimizing Pestic Dependence for a Greener Future”. Therefore, we would like to request you to attend this event.
The objectives:
– Interaction regarding agriculture, climate change and the effect of toxicism on the environment and its minimization,
– Regarding efforts, challenges and upcoming plans for transformation towards complete organic farming
To discuss,
– Arrangement and probable policy regulations regarding pesticides and environment protection
– To highlight the policies and plans,
– Discussing the difficulties in storage and conservation of local seedbusiness.
On October 11 2023, Dr. Erik Jors, DASAM visited the FHEN office and a field visit to Mr. Mohan Gurung organic farm and Mr. Chandra Prasad Adhikari organic farm. We are delighted to have you visit our office.
On the occasion as part of collaboration between TGHN Asia and TGHN Nepal. TGHN Asia, icddr,b team visited the TGHN Nepal, NPHF, program titled “ Capacity Strengthening for Research Management” was conducted. The program created a platform for conducive discussion and gain a diverse perspective by sharing of experiences in grant application, ethical issues and protocol development of Health Research.
This meeting represented a crucial step towards building a collaborative and knowledge-sharing environment in health research management between TGHN Asia and TGHN Nepal.
GARP Nepal core group meeting was held on 2nd October 2023 in Kathmandu. Core group includes the Chair, Vice Chair, PI and the Coordinator. The meeting was conducted with an aim to discuss and confirm the date of in-person workshop, draft the agenda and way forward.
GARP-Nepal Kick-off meeting (Online) was held on 11th August, 2023. Participants of the meeting were the team members from the One Health Trust and GARP-Nepal technical working group members. It was an introductory meeting between the One Health Trust Team and the newly formed GARP-Nepal Technical working group. Dr. Erta Kalanxhi, Director of Partnerships, The One Health Trust presented on the value of vaccine followed by a brief introduction of Nepal Public Health Foundation by Dr. Paras K. Pokharel, Chair of GARP-Nepal. The participants were made aware of their roles and responsibilities as the GARP-Nepal Technical Working Group.
GARP working group members are experts in the AMR field. Members of GARP-Nepal Technical Working Group are:
Representative, Quality Standard and Regulation Section, MoHP
Representative, Immunization Section, Family Health Division, DoHS
Representative, Curative Service Division, DoHS
Sweety Upadhaya, Microbiologist, National Public Health Laboratory
Sudha Basnet, Professor of Pediatrics, Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu
Ramesh Kant Adhikari, Senior immunization expert and Former-chair of national advisory group on immunization for Nepal
Rupendra Chaulagain, Himalayan College of Agriculture Science and Technology (HICAST)
Dr. Madhusudan Subedi, Medical Anthropologist/Medical Sociologist, Chair of the Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Medicine, and Coordinator of the School of Public Health at Patan Academy of Health Sciences
