Unregulated access to pesticides fuelling suicide rates

Unregulated access to pesticides fuelling suicide rates – NGO

Jul 27, 2015 News

…proposes implementation of foreign model

As Guyana’s suicide epidemic shows no signs of waning anytime soon, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) is pushing for regulated access to pesticides as a means of curbing the staggering rates.
Bibi Ahamad, Managing Director of the New York based NGO Caribbean Voice, shared her opinion on the matter during an interview with Kaieteur News.
According to Ahamad, regulated access to pesticides is something the Caribbean Voice has been advocating for quite some time. Noting that the majority of suicides in Guyana are committed with the use of pesticides, Ahamad said that regulating access would go a long way in stymieing persons who are suicidal.
Past reports from the Ministry of Health (now the Ministry of Public Health) indicate that about 60% of suicides in Guyana saw the use of pesticides.
Ahamad explained that attempts were made in the past to contact persons who oftentimes deal with pesticides, such as farmers, to educate them on the risks of open access to pesticides. She said too that farmers were also urged to meet with officials to learn more about safety precautions.
However, she said, the reception was not good.

Bibi Ahamad, Managing Director of the Caribbean Voice

“The thing about it is, it’s just how Guyanese think. The farmers will question why they need to go listen about pesticides rather than just go work in the fields. So, they just don’t come out and listen,” Ahamad said.
Ahamad opined that very often, pesticides are improperly stored by farmers, thus allowing for easy access to someone who wants to commit suicide.
“The farmers just store it in their bottom house,” Ahamad said before adding, “It’s not the people who are selling it who are really the problem, it’s the final users.”
In response to the issue, Ahamad said that the Caribbean Voice was working stridently on getting the Pesticides and Toxic Chemical Control Board (PTCCB) of Guyana onboard.
She said that although the PTCCB had been very receptive, it too faced impediments in getting farmers aware and interested in turning out.
“So they [PTCCB] has to find ways and means of getting to the farmers out there in terms of storage,” Ahamad said.
One of the suggestions put forward to the PTCCB was the implementation of the Sri Lankan Model of Hazard Reduction, Ahamad said. She explained that the implementation of the model in the Asian nation saw a 50% reduction in suicide rates in just under a decade.
“They had put certain measures in place in terms of accessing pesticides and insecticides and checks and balances for that,” she said.
She further said the PTCCB has something similar and, if put it place, it would go a long way in reducing the suicides in Guyana. However, she said, while this model had been set to be implemented in either April or May of this year, it might have been delayed due to the ongoing elections in Guyana. She said too that the lack of whole-hearted support from local farmers was also an impediment to the PTCCB.
However, she emphasised that the process must be up and running, and further stressed that the Caribbean Voice will be following up the matter with the PTCCB and new Guyana Government.
Meanwhile, Caribbean Voice will also be hosting a national stakeholders’ conference on August 21 as part of its efforts to reduce suicides in Guyana.
During a forum late last year, Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Carissa Etienne said that research has shown that reducing access to the most common means like firearms, pesticides, and certain medicine helps lessen suicides.
Last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Guyana as the country with the highest estimated suicide rate for 2012. According to the 2012 report, Guyana suffers 44.2 suicides for 100,000 persons per year. This figure is almost double what it was less than 10 years ago.