In Lagos this July, scientists, ministers, and public health leaders gathered to declare what the evidence has long suggested: that the creatures carrying malaria, dengue, and Lassa fever are not merely nuisances but vectors of national vulnerability. Africa's fifth Global Pest Conference reframed pest management not as a sanitation afterthought but as a pillar of biosecurity, food safety, and human dignity. The call was not for more chemicals, but for a wiser, more integrated science — one that honors local knowledge, demands regulatory accountability, and recognizes that the health of people
Africa's experts call for science-driven pest management as public health priority
Effective pest management is essential to preventing diseases such as malaria, dengue, Lassa fever and yellow fever across Africa.
Pest control is no longer just operational—it's a national public health priority
Mark
Why frame pest control as a national security issue? That seems like a stretch.
Mimi
It's not. Malaria alone kills hundreds of thousands across Africa each year. Dengue and Lassa fever are spreading. If you can't control the vectors that carry these diseases, you can't protect your population or your economy. That's security in the most fundamental sense.
Mark
But the conference also talked about food systems and agriculture. How does pest management connect to that?
Mimi
Pests destroy crops. They contaminate food. In a region where food security is already fragile, uncontrolled pest populations can trigger both hunger and disease outbreaks simultaneously. It's why the One Health approach matters—you can't separate human health from agricultural health.
Mark
The speakers mentioned moving away from hazardous chemicals. What does that actually mean in practice?
Mimi
Integrated Pest Management. It combines things like targeted use of safer pesticides, biological controls, crop rotation, and local knowledge about what works in specific environments. It's more sophisticated than just spraying chemicals everywhere, and it's safer for people and ecosystems.
Mark
Who's actually going to pay for this shift? It sounds expensive.
Mimi
That's the real question the conference was asking. Right now, investment is scattered and insufficient. They're calling on governments, private companies, and development partners to commit serious resources to research, technology transfer, and training. Without that funding, the shift won't happen.
Mark
What happens if Africa doesn't make this change?
Mimi
Disease outbreaks continue. Food systems remain vulnerable. Economic losses mount. And as climate change accelerates, the problem gets worse—warmer temperatures expand the range where disease-carrying insects can survive.
Der Puls
- Nigeria's Interior Minister declared pest and vector control a matter of national security, signaling that transboundary disease prevention has moved from the margins to the center of governance.
- Malaria, dengue, Lassa fever, and yellow fever continue to exact a devastating human toll across Africa, with urbanization and climate change accelerating the conditions that allow vector-borne diseases to spread.
- Decades of reliance on hazardous chemicals are being challenged by researchers and international experts who argue that Integrated Pest Management — blending traditional knowledge with sustainable technology — is the only viable path forward.
- Regulatory bodies including NAFDAC and Nigeria's Agricultural Quarantine Service are pressing for stricter pesticide compliance and integrated quarantine measures to protect both public health and food systems.
- The conference is landing on a clear trajectory: substantially increased investment in science-driven, professionally regulated pest management, guided by the One Health principle that human, animal, and environmental wellbeing are inseparably linked.
In Lagos this July, scientists, ministers, and public health leaders gathered to declare what the evidence has long suggested: that the creatures carrying malaria, dengue, and Lassa fever are not merely nuisances but vectors of national vulnerability. Africa's fifth Global Pest Conference reframed pest management not as a sanitation afterthought but as a pillar of biosecurity, food safety, and human dignity. The call was not for more chemicals, but for a wiser, more integrated science — one that honors local knowledge, demands regulatory accountability, and recognizes that the health of people, animals, and ecosystems cannot be separated.
In Lagos this July, the Global Pest Conference — now in its fifth year and grown into one of Africa's most consequential forums on vector control — brought together ministers, scientists, regulators, and industry leaders around an urgent shared premise: that pest management has become a matter of survival.
Nigeria's Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, set the tone in his keynote, arguing that pest and vector control must be understood as national security. Transboundary disease prevention and biosecurity preparedness, he insisted, are foundational to protecting both borders and communities — a position that reflected a hardening consensus across the region rather than mere conference rhetoric.
The scientific direction was charted by Prof. Kehinde Kemabonta of the University of Lagos, who made the case for Integrated Pest Management: moving away from hazardous chemicals and toward approaches that marry traditional knowledge with sustainable technologies. International voices from Italy and the United States reinforced this shift, presenting frameworks for strategic partnerships and practical alternatives to conventional methods.
Regulatory bodies added institutional weight. NAFDAC stressed the necessity of strict pesticide compliance, while Nigeria's Agricultural Quarantine Service underscored integrated quarantine as essential to protecting food systems and trade. The Environmental Health Council of Nigeria framed the stakes plainly: as urbanization accelerates and climate change reshapes ecosystems, science-driven, professionally regulated pest management is no longer optional.
Underpinning the entire gathering was the One Health approach — the recognition that human, animal, plant, and environmental health are bound together. Through this lens, effective pest control becomes a bulwark against malaria, dengue, Lassa fever, and yellow fever, while also shielding agriculture from losses that deepen food insecurity. What the conference ultimately produced was a call not for more of the same, but for a fundamental reorientation: toward regulation, innovation, and the understanding that vector-borne diseases respect neither borders nor economic status — and neither can Africa's response.
In Lagos this July, a gathering of public health officials, scientists, and industry leaders made a blunt case: Africa's approach to pest control has become a matter of survival. The occasion was the Global Pest Conference, now in its fifth year and grown from a regional training event into one of the continent's most significant forums on vector and pest management. The two-day forum brought together policymakers, academics, manufacturers, and development partners under a theme that captured the urgency: rethinking pest control strategies for agriculture, food safety, public health, and environmental sustainability.
The tone was set by Nigeria's Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who reframed the entire conversation in his keynote address. Pest and vector control, he argued, must be understood as a national security issue. Transboundary disease prevention and biosecurity preparedness cannot remain peripheral concerns—they are foundational to protecting borders and communities alike. This was not hyperbole dressed up for a conference audience. It reflected a hardening consensus among those responsible for public health across the region.
The scientific case for transformation came from Prof. Kehinde Kemabonta of the University of Lagos, who presented research on advancing Integrated Pest Management. His argument was straightforward: Africa's future depends on marrying traditional knowledge with sustainable technologies, moving away from the hazardous chemicals that have long dominated the sector. International speakers reinforced this direction. Giovanni Bazzocchi from Italy discussed building pest management's future through strategic partnerships, while Daniel Baldwin from the United States presented a practical framework for moving beyond conventional approaches.
Regulatory bodies added their weight to the conversation. NAFDAC representatives emphasized the necessity of strict pesticide regulation and compliance to safeguard public health. Nigeria's Agricultural Quarantine Service highlighted integrated quarantine measures as essential to protecting both trade and food systems. The Environmental Health Council of Nigeria, speaking through Mrs Ibrahim Bolanle, articulated the stakes with particular clarity: as Nigeria urbanizes and confronts climate change, the need for safe, science-driven, professionally regulated pest management has become non-negotiable.
The framework guiding this shift is known as the One Health approach—the recognition that human, animal, plant, and environmental health are inseparably linked. Under this lens, effective pest control is not merely an operational service but a bulwark against diseases like malaria, dengue, Lassa fever, and yellow fever. It protects agriculture from devastating losses and strengthens food security in a region where both remain fragile. Ayodeji Oluleye, the managing director of Dfortune Pest Solutions and convener of the conference, described the gathering as a bridge between research, policy, and practice—a space where innovators display eco-friendly products, researchers present findings, and regulators shape the sector's future through dialogue.
What emerged from the conference was a call for substantially increased investment in science-driven pest management across Africa. This is not a call for more of the same, but for a fundamental reorientation: toward regulation, toward innovation, toward the integration of local knowledge with cutting-edge technology, and toward treating pest management as the public health priority it has become. The diseases that vector-borne pests transmit do not respect borders or economic status. Neither, the experts argued, can Africa's response.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Transboundary disease prevention and biosecurity preparedness can no longer be an afterthought. The role of pest management in protecting our borders and communities is critical.— Nigeria's Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
As Nigeria continues to urbanise and confront climate change, emerging infectious diseases and food system vulnerabilities, the need for safe, science-driven, and professionally regulated pest management has never been more compelling.— Mrs Ibrahim Bolanle, Environmental Health Council of Nigeria
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