Pesticides, Environment & Health Interdisciplinary Symposium Hosted by Maseno University and University of Oslo at Kisumu Hotel
PESTICIDES. ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH INTERDISCPLINARY SYMPOSIUM
The Symposium “Pesticides, Environment and Public Health in East Africa- Towards Sustainable Alternatives” hosted by Maseno University, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, NORAD as well as Greenpeace Africa, PELUM Kenya, Road to Food and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Kenya. It has brought together representatives of civil society organizations, environmental and social scientists and regional policymakers from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, in view of sharing and promoting knowledge of environmental harm caused by pesticides use, achievements in pesticide politics and policy, and directions for future research, networking and policy activism. This forms a necessary step to drive a regional phase-out of HHPs.
The Meeting Provided a platform to:
- Share knowledge on the environmental and health impacts of pesticide use
- Highlight policy progress and gaps in East African Pesticides regulation
- Explore sustainable alternatives to pesticide use through research, farmer practices, and policy innovation
- Build regional collaboration and advocacy networks for phasing out highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs).
The regional dialogue will inform future policy, strengthen cross-border collaboration, and accelerate the transition towards safe, healthy and environmentally sound food systems in East Africa.
In his opening remarks at the interdisciplinary symposium "Pesticides, Environment and Health in East Africa," held at Maseno University on November 5, 2025, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic & Student Affairs- Prof. Erick Nyambedha, emphasized the urgent need to address the widespread and harmful use of pesticides in the region. Highlighted that many pesticides banned elsewhere are still imported and used in Kenya, posing serious risks to human health—such links to chronic diseases—and causing severe environmental damage, including pollution of soil, water, and biodiversity, as evidenced by pesticide runoff into Lake Victoria. The symposium brought together environmental and social scientists, policymakers, civil society organizations, and students from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to share research, identify regulatory gaps, explore sustainable alternatives, and build regional collaboration with the goal of phasing out highly hazardous pesticides and promoting healthier, environmentally sound food systems in East Africa.
In her welcoming address at the "Pesticides, Environment and Health in East Africa" symposium in Kisumu, Prof. Ruth Prince from the University of Oslo extended a warm welcome on behalf of the organizers and expressed gratitude to Maseno University for hosting the event, highlighting the long-standing collaboration between the two institutions through the NORAD-funded ANTHEM project, which aims to build interdisciplinary research and teaching capacity on health and environment in East Africa. She noted that the symposium was the result of teamwork with several partner organizations as earlier mentioned and explained that it was inspired by a previous event in Tanzania focused on pesticides and health, with the current gathering shifting focus to the environmental impacts of pesticides to share knowledge, discuss policy achievements, and develop future directions for research and advocacy by bringing together scientists, civil society, policymakers, and students from across the region.
