Schools should be safe spaces where children can learn and grow, not places where they are poisoned by pesticides. Yet across Asia and beyond, children continue to fall sick in their classrooms because of pesticide drift from nearby farms. Their developing bodies are especially vulnerable, and even small exposures can cause headaches, nausea, developmental harm, and long-term health issues.

In July 2025, nearly 250 students in Antique, Philippines, were poisoned by the insecticide cypermethrin.[1] This incident joins a long list of pesticide poisoning of children: In 2013, 23 children died in Bihar, India as the Mid-Day meal that were served to them were contaminated with the pesticide monocrotophos.[2] In the same year, an airplane sprayed pesticides over a school on Brazil, affecting ang hospitalising 90 people, including children in the area.[3] In 2015, a school in Ottawa, Canada had to close for a few days as roach spray done in school had cause 30 kids to fall sick.[4] In 2016, children in Po Ampil, Cambodia, experienced dizziness and nausea from pesticide drift.[5] In 2019, nearly 283 primary students in Port Dickson, Malaysia, were exposed to malathion, with 32 suffering severe poisoning symptoms.[6] A 2020 study confirmed widespread pesticide poisoning symptoms among schoolchildren in Vietnam.[7] In 2023, at least 55 children in Maguindanao, Philippines fell ill due to pesticide exposure in school from the insecticide phenthoate sprayed in nearby fields.[8] 

These repeated tragedies show that pesticide exposure in schools is not an isolated problem, it is systemic, ongoing, and preventable. Pesticides can drift hundreds of meters and remain at harmful concentrations for days or even weeks after spraying, especially in rural Asia where millions of children live in farming communities. Such exposure violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child [9], which guarantees every child’s right to life, health, and survival to the maximum extent possible.

We, PAN Asia Pacific (PANAP), our partners, and concerned citizens worldwide, demand that governments establish pesticide-free buffer zones of at least 1 km around schools. Children’s right to a healthy future must come before corporate profit. Schools should disallow the use of pesticides inside their campuses. Farmers near schools should be supported to transition toward safe, non-chemical practices like agroecology. Sign this petition and help make schools truly safe sanctuaries for our children

 
[1] Daily Guardian (2025). https://www.facebook.com/100064403780936/posts/1170373738452741/?mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=ss8C0JRqgaepxCEa
[2] BBC. (2013). India school lunch deaths: high pesticide levels found. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23390972 
[3] Human Rights Watch. (2018). “You Don’t Want to Breathe Poison Anymore”. https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/07/20/you-dont-want-breathe-poison-anymore/failing-response-pesticide-drift-brazils 
[4] CBC News. (2015). Charles H. Hulse school closed after roach spray makes children ill. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/charles-h-hulse-school-closed-after-roach-spray-makes-children-ill-1.3036351 
[5] PANAP. (2016). A Pesticide Free Buffer Zone Needed in Po Ampil Primary School, Takeo Province, Cambodia. https://panap.net/2016/11/16-days-global-action-land-resources-mobilise-farmers-small-food-producers-rural-women-fisherfolk-agri-workers-advocates-across-globe/ 
[6] MalayMail. (2019). ‘Human error’ during pesticide spraying behind Negri Sembilan school students poisoning. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/07/20/human-error-during-pesticide-spraying-behind-negri-sembilan-school-students/1773328 
[7] PANAP (2020). Schoolchildren’s Exposure to Pesticides in Vietnam: A Study in Three Districts. https://panap.net/resource/school-childrens-exposure-to-pesticides-in-vietnam-a-study-in-three-districts/ 
[8] Minda News. (2023). 55 students in Maguindanao town fall ill from ‘pesticide exposure’ – doctor. https://mindanews.com/top-stories/2023/05/55-students-in-maguindanao-town-fall-ill-from-pesticide-exposure-doctor/ 
[9] Convention on the Rights of the Child. http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/crc.pdf