Pag 1 / 2 TCC PROJECT FINAL REPORT Date: PWR: Barbados 03/04-05 No. 70 December 14, 2005 INFORME FINAL DE PROYECTO CTP Fecha: Pan American Health Organization/Organización Panamericana de la Salud TCC FINAL REPORT / INFORME FINAL DE PROYECTO CTP S UMMARY S HEET / R ESUMEN Report Date / Fecha del Reporte: 1. GENERAL INFORMATION / INFORMACIÓN GENERAL Project title/ Título del proyecto: Country Leader / País Líder: Strengthening of Management Capacity for Pesticide-related Illnesses Nicaragua Participating countries/ Paises participantes Start date / Fecha de inicio: Grenada, Dominica, Nicaragua March 2003 End date / Fecha de finalización June 2005 2. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN / ANTECEDENTES Y ORIGEN DEL PROYECTO a) Context/ Contexto Pesticide misuse has been for a long time a major public health concern in Dominica and Grenada. Many issues could have been better addressed if there was adequate training in the storage, use and handling of agricultural pesticides among workers and household members. Additionally, there is a lack of adequate training in the recognition and treatment of illnesses related to the use of agricultural pesticides. Acute and chronic pesticide exposures and poisoning are under-reported and there is a lack of appropriate infrastructure, with very few trained personnel in the health sector. Conversely, expertise in this area, particularly in the regulation of pesticides and management of illnesses related to pesticide, has been well developed in Nicaragua and Costa Rica thanks to the PLAGSALUD project being implemented in Central America since 1995. b)Purpose/ Propósito To reduce mortality and morbidity rates associated with inadequate management of pesticides through improved diagnosis and health care management. c) Expected results/ Resultados esperados Ability and capacity of health professionals in Dominica and Grenada in the identification of and treatment of pesticide-related illnesses improved 3. PROJECT EXECUTION / EJECUCIÓN DEL PROYECTO a) Achievement of the expected results / Logros de los resultados esperados The objective of the project was attained as some relevant health officials in Grenada and Dominica are now trained on procedures to identify and treat pesticide-related illnesses. However, it is not certain whether the trained staff are adequately positioned to apply the acquired skills. b) Specific products / Productos específicos Five health professionals ( 2 medical doctors and 1 Environmental Health Inspector from Grenada, and 2 Nurse Practitioners from Dominica) visited PLAGSALUD project in Nicaragua and received on-the-job training on diagnosis and management of persons affected by poisonings. Grenada- One week training workshop, facilitated by two Nicaraguan doctors was held for medical staff of Grenada on identification and management of pesticide-related conditions. Dominica - One week training workshop facilitated by two Nicaraguan doctors on the identification and management of pesticide-related conditions was held for medical staff of Dominica. c) Additional achievements / Logros adicionales Training course syllabi on the handling of pesticide were developed in collaboration with COOSTAAT d) Limitations / Limitaciones Staff selection for the study tour in Nicaragua was challenging for both Dominica and Grenada. Therefore, the paticipants did not benefit fully from the exposure and opportunity provided to them in Nicaragua. Language barrier between the Nicaraguans and the health professionals from Dominica and Grenada limited greatly the extent of achievement and made the project more costly as translation had to be provided for the workshops in Grenada and Dominica Pag 2 / 2 TCC PROJECT FINAL REPORT Date: PWR: Barbados 03/04-05 No. 70 December 14, 2005 INFORME FINAL DE PROYECTO CTP Fecha: Pan American Health Organization/Organización Panamericana de la Salud TCC FINAL REPORT / INFORME FINAL DE PROYECTO CTP S UMMARY S HEET / R ESUMEN e) Total budget and amount spent / Presupuesto total y ejecutado Resourced : US$ 3.600.00 Obligated : US$ 3,352.80 Un-obligated : US$ 247.20 4. STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED, E.G. MINISTRIES, INSTITUTES, FOUNDATIONS, NGOS / ACTORES INVOLUCRADOS, EJ: MINISTERIOS, INSTITUTOS, FUNDACIONES, ONGS. 5. LESSONS LEARNED / LECCIONES APRENDIDAS Language was a limiting factor in the implementation of the project. The Nicaraguan counterparts were not conversant in English nor were the designated focal points in Dominica and Grenada fluent in Spanish. This partly explained why the evaluation activity was not conducted. It was not possible to identify a staff of MOH Nicaragua conversant in English and familiar enough with the PLAGSALUD project to conduct the evaluation. 6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS / CONCLUSIONES Y RECOMENDACIONES The language barrier caused the cost of implementation of the project to be higher than anticipated. As lessons learnt, translation cost should be included in the estimate for future TCC projects if they are to be undertaken between the Latin and English Caribbean countries. The evaluation of the skills acquired by Dominica and Grenada health professionals in diagnosis and management of pesticide-related illnesses still needs to be assessed in order to review the benefit from the project investment. .