Safe Fields, Safer Lives: Pesticide Bans Put Suicide Prevention First in South Asia

WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have developed practical resources to help pesticide regulators phase out acutely toxic products associated with suicide.

Bangladesh and India declared national bans on paraquat in September 2026, taking a major step to protect rural families from one of agriculture's most dangerous chemicals. The decisions place both countries among more than 70 nations that have prohibited the pesticide because of its severe toxicity and concerns about suicide, Parkinson disease and farmers' safety. In communities where dangerous pesticides are readily available, removing paraquat could save thousands of lives and reduce exposure to a chemical linked to serious health risks.

An estimated one in five suicides worldwide involves the ingestion of acutely toxic pesticides, with many preventable deaths occurring in rural communities. Families across Africa, Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands carry much of this burden. The danger reaches beyond acute poisoning, as prolonged exposure to toxic pesticides has been linked to brain health and neurological risks among agricultural workers and neurodevelopmental disorders among children.

The bans reflect years of work by governments, civil society organizations, researchers, communities and health professionals, including the World Health Organization (WHO). International evidence suggests that national restrictions on acutely toxic pesticides can prevent deaths without reducing agricultural productivity. Bangladesh and India's decisions bring that evidence into public policy, placing human health at the centre of how dangerous agricultural chemicals are regulated.

Giving people time to survive a crisis

Suicidal thoughts and behaviours can arise impulsively during acute distress, making immediate access to a highly lethal pesticide especially dangerous. Restricting access creates crucial time for those thoughts to pass and for someone to receive support or intervention before a potentially fatal action occurs. Experience from the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Sri Lanka shows that bans on paraquat and other acutely toxic pesticides have substantially reduced pesticide-related suicides and overall suicide rates without harming agricultural productivity.

Helping countries turn evidence into action

WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have developed practical resources to help pesticide regulators phase out acutely toxic products associated with suicide. Their publications include the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management: Guidance on Pesticide Regulation to Prevent Suicide, the brochure Preventing Suicide by Phasing Out Highly Hazardous Pesticides, and Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Pesticide Registrars and Regulators. These materials give authorities guidance for making regulatory decisions that address preventable deaths associated with dangerous pesticides.

A WHO study found that national bans on acutely toxic pesticides are among the most cost-effective interventions for mental health. This evidence is reflected in WHO's Menu of cost-effective interventions for mental health, which includes these regulatory measures. For Bangladesh and India, the anticipated benefits include thousands of lives saved and protection of brain health through reduced exposure to dangerous chemicals.

Building global momentum for safer agriculture

Highly hazardous pesticides represent a small number of products responsible for disproportionate harm to human health and the environment, and efforts to phase them out have gained momentum over the past decade. A chemicals resolution adopted at the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly in 2023 included action on these pesticides, and official and external side events at the Seventy-ninth Assembly in 2026 highlighted their removal for suicide prevention. The First International Conference of the Global Framework on Chemicals, scheduled for November 2026, will advance global targets including phasing out highly hazardous pesticides from agriculture, with Bangladesh and India's bans setting an important precedent for protecting agricultural workers, children and people in distress.