The cost-effectiveness of regulations to ban highly hazardous pesticides to prevent suicides attributable to pesticide self-poisoning: an economic analysis for the World Health Organization

Abstract

Pesticide self-poisoning is among the leading causes of suicide among low- to middle-income countries, particularly those with large agrarian populations. Recent international evidence has demonstrated that regulatory bans of highly hazardous pesticides are effective in reducing the high burden of suicides attributable to pesticide self-poisoning in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Korea - without adversely affecting agricultural output. Dr Yong Yi Lee will present the results of an economic model he has developed on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO) to examine the cost-effectiveness of regulatory bans of highly hazardous pesticides to prevent suicide across several low- and middle-income countries. This cost-effectiveness analysis will contribute to a menu of policy options and cost-effective interventions for mental health that are being developed by the WHO Secretariat to assist Member States in implementing the commitments included in a recent political declaration released on September 2018 by the third high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and the promotion of mental health and well-being.

About the presenter

Dr Yong Yi Lee is a research fellow with Deakin Health Economics at Deakin University; and an honorary fellow at The University of Queensland, School of Public Health and the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR). His research focuses on applying economic evaluation methods and modelling techniques to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of interventions for mental disorders and other non-communicable diseases. Dr Lee has qualifications in both health economics and public health. Previous research projects that Dr Lee has been involved in include: the ACE Prevention study; the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study; and the NHMRC-funded Centre for Research Excellence in Mental Health Systems Improvement.