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| Wednesday, 30 June 2004 |
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Pesticide poisoning - a continuing threat
Remember Sri Lanka's rather dubious claim to fame as the country with the highest suicide rate? That was a decade ago when more than 8500 people- mostly adolescents and young adults ended their lives. Today, thankfully the number of suicides have fallen to almost half- credit goes to a number of initiatives, the most prominent being the gradual phasing out of the key pesticides that were used for the purpose. Pesticide poisoning largely intentional- became a huge problem in Sri Lankan hospitals in the 1990s. Availability coupled with social issues of the times (high unemployment, alcohol abuse and heavy rural-urban migration) caused the wave of pesticide poisoning. Pesticides can still be bought over the counter. The most poisonous ones are the ones commonly used in agriculture or even home gardening. Although the number of suicides has lessened considerably the rate of ATTEMPTED suicides and pesticide poisoning still remain high. This is largely because the underlying social issues have as yet not been addressed to a successful level, although the availability of certain highly toxic pesticides have now been restricted from the market. At last week's Academic Sessions of the Science and Medical Faculties of Colombo University, Michael Eddleston from Oxford now in Sri Lanka as a research fellow pointed out that although some of the more dangerous pesticides have been taken off the shelves, they have been replaced by equally toxic alternatives. "The number of deaths today," he pointed out, "is roughly equal to the number 10 years ago, before the bans were instigated." Pesticide poisoning account for around 60% of suicide deaths in the country (and in the South/ East Asian region). Eddleston reiterated the need to 'find effective ways to restrict the use of highly toxic pesticides' without creating an adverse impact on agriculture output. This has seen Sri Lankan authorities struggle for the past decade or longer. The need to keep pesticides out of reach of rural communities (who are most susceptible to committing suicide with these poisons) and yet ensuring that on-farm pest management practices are not badly affected by pestilence. It is a full-scale vicious cycle. The need for pesticides is most direly felt in rural areas where intensive paddy and vegetable farming is undertaken. Already Sri Lankan farming practices are being questioned for low yields and failing productivity. Farmers use huge amounts of pesticides and fertilisers to ensure a viable crop. These are the very areas that record high pesticide poisoning. It is not unusual for a farmer whose crop has failed and is in debt to turn to suicide as an 'easy' way out of the acute stress. Eddleston said that it was indeed a pity that pesticides (in general), which contributed to a medical wonder in Asia, by dramatically reducing Malarial deaths in the 1960s (use of DDT) is now considered an evil threat to life. As many as 300,000 people from rural districts in Asia Pacific succumb to pesticide poisoning annually. In his Keynote Address, Eddleston also made the case for better medical facilities and affordable treatment for pesticide poisoning. In 1995 Sri Lankan hospitals treated more than 15000 patients for pesticide poisoning costing the state health machinery millions of rupees in emergency care. He said that clinical trials to determine best practices for pesticide poisoning, depending on the types of ingested toxicant, is not underway and should shed more light on the issue of correct treatment. |
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