The WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme

WHOPES functions in close collaboration with national disease and pest control programmes and national pesticide registration authorities, many international and regional organizations and institutions concerned with pesticide management, legislation and regulation, research institutions and with industry. 

In its present form, established in 1982, WHOPES comprises a four-phase evaluation and testing programme. 

Phase 1. Technical products or their formulations are tested for efficacy and persistence using laboratory-bred arthropods. This phase 

Phase 2. This phase comprises studies on natural vector populations in the field, on a small scale and under well-controlled conditions, to determine application doses and assess the efficacy and persistence of the product. Where appropriate, the action of products on non-target fauna is verified. Phase 2 is also the first opportunity to document any harmful effects of the product upon the operators in a field situation. 

Phase 3. WHO, industry and one or more institutions located in disease endemic countries undertake to assess the efficacy of the product on a medium or large scale against a specified disease vector. Phase 3 comprises entomological, safety and, where appropriate, epidemiological evaluation. The institution supplies qualified staff for implementation, while the manufacturer supplies the insecticide and the funds needed for the trial. WHO bears the technical responsibility for the operation and is involved in the field through independent consultants. All three parties participate in drafting the trial protocol in accordance with a pre-established model that needs to be adapted to each situation. The final report is drafted by the institution, which submits it to WHO for evaluation. The report is then submitted for review to the manufacturer. 

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The Expert Committee was requested to provide clear recommendations, in particular in regard to ways in which activities related to the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) and the technical support provided to Member States could be strengthened. 

The WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES), set up in 1960, is the only international programme that promotes and coordinates the testing and evaluation of pesticides intended for public health use. The International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides (2) constitutes the framework for WHOPES in promoting the safe handling and use, efficacy, cost-effective application and quality control of pesticide products/formulations for public health use. WHOPES develops specifications for pesticides and application equipment for use in international trade and quality control. 

The chemical is being considered for inclusion or is included in the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) programme (approval programme for direct appHcation of pesticides to drinking water for control of insect vectors of disease). 

WHO and WHOPES the World Health Organization and the WHO Pesticides Evaluation Scheme, responsible for assessments, specifications, and recommendations for pesticides (including repellents) used for public health pest and vector control on behalf of member states of the United Nations (http //www.who.int/whopes/en/). xenobiotic any other material from outside the subject organism. 

WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme has conq>leted the evaluation of efficacy of Olyset nets and recommended their use for malaria control. Since RBM is requiring a large number of LLITN to cover the endemic area in the Sub Sahara... 

WHO, Pesticides and Their Application for the Control of Vectors and Pests of Public Health Importance, 6th ed., WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, and WHO Pesticides Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES), document WHO/CDS/NTD/WHOPES/GCDPP/2006.1, Geneva, Switzerland World Health Organization, 2006. 

WHO, Report of the WHO Informal Consultation on the Evaluation and Testing of Insecticides, Control of Tropical Diseases, Pesticide Evaluation Scheme, Informal Consultation, unpublished document 96.1, Geneva, Switzerland World Health Organization, 1996. 

These activities have enabled WHOPES to plan for the expansion of the Scheme to include the testing and evaluation of a greater variety of pesticides. In recent years, WHOPES has also vigorously promoted the use of WHO specifications for public health pesticides in accordance with the International Code of Conduct on Distribution and Use of Pesticides. Examples of such efforts include the development and wide distribution of guidelines for the purchase of pesticides for public health use, provision of access to WHO specifications for pesticides and their test methods on the Internet, and an increase in the number of WHO collaborating centres for quality control of pesticides (currently three). 

WHOPES has also established a database, which will be made available on the Internet through the WHO web site in the near future. The database contains the basic information that vector control professionals need to know for the day-to-day use of pesticides that have successfully completed evaluation under the Scheme, including type of application, recommended use, selected physical and chemical properties, basic toxicology, storage and handling, and reported cases of resistance (per species and country). 

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