Project: Identifying/Prioritizing Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHP’s) Responsible for Poisonings and Deaths in Senegal

Senegal: Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Africa Trains Enumerators on the T-MAPP Tool to Identify Highly Hazardous Pesticides

On 9 and 10 September 2026, PAN Africa, in collaboration with PAN UK, organized a training workshop on the T-MAPP tool at the NOOM Hôtel in Dakar. The workshop was led by Joey Salmon of PAN UK.

Pesticide poisoning is a major public health concern. More than 95% of these poisonings occur in low- and middle-income countries, and most deaths result from the ingestion of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs). The Global Framework on Chemicals (GFC), established in September 2023 in Bonn, includes Target A7 on the phase-out of HHPs by 2035. As a member of the global alliance on HHPs with a significant agricultural sector, Senegal is committed to reducing or eliminating the HHPs responsible for poisoning and death.

PAN Africa receives technical and financial support from the University of Edinburgh through the Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention (CPSP) and the global framework on chemicals (GFC) to identify and prioritize HHPs in Senegal. To collect accurate data on acute poisoning and build a reliable database, enumerators were trained to use T-MAPP, a digital surveillance system developed by Better Cotton to accelerate data collection and analyze the impact of pesticides on farmers' health.

Over two days, in the classroom and in the field, participants took part in interactive presentations, a detailed reading of the questionnaire, and paired interview simulations covering ethics and informed consent. A full-scale practical test at Lac Rose, outside the sampling area, validated the skills acquired.

By the end of the training, the enumerators were able to use the T-MAPP tool and had a thorough understanding of the key concepts related to pesticides. The questionnaire was tested, adjusted and mastered by the entire field team. The training was well structured and held in a conducive environment, although a lack of practical examples was noted.

To support the fieldwork, the following recommendations were made: provide enumerators with image-based materials to identify pests and products used by producers, the list of pesticides used in recent agricultural campaigns in Senegal (DPV), and power banks, and update the T-MAPP tool.

The next steps are the signing of contracts with the enumerators, field data collection, analysis and validation of the data, and decision-making and continuation of project activities.