Our Work
What we do
Our work aims to identify lethal pesticides responsible for suicides and end their use through regulatory action – banning and phasing them out. We work in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) with national pesticide regulators, public health researchers and civil society.
Country and regional work
Where we work
Click on the teardrop icons to find out more about our project work within individual countries.
We also support regional action on highly toxic pesticides. We have developed collaborations with five regional pesticide regulatory bodies in in the Caribbean, West Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa.
Pakistan
CPSP is working closely with CABI Pakistan to support and strengthen government efforts to regulate dangerous pesticides.
Bangladesh
CPSP facilitated a key partnership between the National Poison Centre, Bangladesh (NPCB), and FAO Bangladesh, securing essential funding from FAO to support the centre’s sustainability.
India
India has one of the highest rates of pesticide suicide in the world and is a priority country for CPSP work.
Our India-based team are working closely with policymakers and research institutes at both central and state level to support pesticide regulation, collect data on pesticide poisoning cases, and measure impact from existing bans.
Nepal
CPSP has been working in Nepal since 2017. Our initial work aimed to identify the pesticides responsible for the majority of pesticide suicides in Nepal. In 2019, Nepal banned eight pesticides, including two identified by our study.
We are now undertaking data collection to monitor the impact of the 2019 bans on health and agriculture. We are also conducting research in farming communities to understand how successes and challenges of implementation.
We are also partnering with Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK to support the implementation of data collection through their innovative T-MAPP mobile app.
Sri Lanka
CPSP Director Professor Michael Eddleston has carried out extensive research in Sri Lanka over the last two decades. Sri Lanka’s pesticide regulations have contributed to one of the greatest falls in suicide rates ever seen in the world, falling by more than 70% since 1995.
We are currently supporting several projects in Sri Lanka, aimed at improving surveillance systems for pesticide poisoning.
Suriname
We are working in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on a project aimed at preventing pesticide suicides in Suriname.
Tanzania
We are working with the Government of Tanzania to strengthen national capacity for highly hazardous pesticide (HHP) management, with a focus on suicide prevention.
Uganda
We are collaborating with Makerere University School of Public Health, to identify pesticides used in acts of self-poisoning between 2017-2021.
The study includes a review of highly hazardous pesticides registered in Uganda, with the aim to remove the most problematic pesticides from agriculture.
Zimbabwe
We are working with the Government of Zimbabwe to strengthen national capacity for highly hazardous pesticide (HHP) management, with a focus on suicide prevention.
Brazil
We are collaborating closely with ANVISA – the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency – to improve reporting of pesticide poisoning incidents and assess the impact of recent pesticide bans.
Barbados
In partnership with the national pesticide regulator, CPSP is supporting the development of a roadmap to address highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs).
To find out more about our country and regional work, read our latest annual report.
Special interest projects
In addition to our country and regional work, CPSP also supports a number of special interest projects.
Human rights
We engage with human rights experts and institutions to raise awareness of the human rights issues associated with pesticide poisoning.
Commercial determinants of health
We support academic research into the ways that commercial actors can impact health and the environment.
Role of alcohol
We undertake research to better understand the role of alcohol in self-harm and pesticide suicide.
Identifying alternatives
We help to identify alternative pest control measures for different crop and pest combinations.
Implementation of bans
We collect and share experiences of replacing highly toxic pesticides with less toxic pest control measures.
Public health guidelines
We work closely with relevant UN agencies to support the development of guidelines for data collection and treatment of poisoned patients.
