Highlights
- On 5 June 2026 an open Call for Experts for the WHO Advisory Group on Pesticide Specifications was launched. The Call for Experts will be open until 1 October 2026 (CallExperts_WHO-AG_PesticideSpecifications_5June2026.pdf)
- In preparation for and during the 2026 JMPS meeting, 33 applications were assessed: 14 applications for establishment of specifications for new AIs and revision of old procedure specifications, 19 applications for extension of specifications (confirmation of compliance with established specifications, including the assessment of impurity profiles)
List of Compliant Vector Control Active Ingredients
Beginning in March 2026, sent Letters of Agreement (LoA) to 48 manufacturers of VCAIs to formalize the procedures for WHO Assessment of Vector Control Active Ingredients. The Overview of the WHO Assessment of Vector Control Active Ingredient Products (“VCAI Procedures”) which apply to the active ingredient source materials, intended for use in the formulation of public health pesticides, submitted by manufacturers to demonstrate compliance with WHO -recommended quality standards and therefore acceptable for use in the formulation of Vector Control Products (VCP) which have been or are proposed to be evaluated by WHO for the purpose of prequalification. To ensure the inclusion of VCAIs in the list of VCAIs confirmed to comply with WHO specifications, WHO/PQT requested the agreement to be signed and returned to pqvectorcontrol@who.int.
Only those VCAIs for which the LoA has been signed and returned will be considered as acceptable sources for use in the formulation of prequalified VCPs.
The List of Compliant Vector Control Active Ingredients has been published.
As of June 2026, there are 85 VCAIs listed across 37 different active ingredients.
ePQS Portal
With the successful first year of the ePQS Portal, we continue to encourage all VCP applicants to register as portal users. Information about the ePQS portal and the ePQS User Registration Form can be found here:
As of 30 May 2026, all applications for new products and changes must be submitted through the ePQS portal.
Prequalified products
In 2026, 1 new product has been prequalified. 10 product applications have been cancelled and or withdrawn. For cancelled/withdrawn applications, applicants are reminded that new product applications can be submitted once the identified deficiencies have been addressed.
Further details can be found on the prequalification page for each product.
Product type | Product name | Date of prequalification |
ITN | Synera DuoForte | 25 February 2026 |
All products that have been accepted for PQT/VCP assessment can be found on the pipeline page.
Target timelines for assessment and listing decision(s) are 365 WHO days from the date of acceptance for assessment. WHO days are defined as those days in which the product dossier is with WHO for assessment, i.e., does not include manufacturer time to respond to Requests for Information.
Recently published documents
The AMS for Number of batches required for testing of physical/chemical properties has been updated. It now includes clarification of batch sampling requirements.
The new AMS for Preparation of supporting statistical files for submission in product dossiers was published in May 2026.
The spatial emanators interim guidance IG 3.5 IG - Declaration of product sampling has been updated. It now includes clarification of batch sampling requirements.
The ITN guideline IG 3.5 IG - Declaration of ITN construction and sampling procedure has been updated. It now includes clarification of batch sampling requirements, and section 5 on guidance for submission of the sampling plan used for the manufacturing release specifications.
The 3.12 IG - Regeneration study for ITN fabric has been updated providing the link to github repository location as an example for statistical code.
The 5.3 IG - Semi-filed studies has been updated providing the link to github repository location as an example for statistical code.
In 5.13 IG - Long-term community studies (LTCS) Figure 1 has been updated (regarding the timepoints for testing the appearance and WRI physical tests) to be consistent with Table 6.
The Chinese translation of the Manual on development and use of FAO and WHO specifications for microbial pesticides has been published.
The specification for Brodifacoum has been updated with the evaluation report 370/2026 (related to the summary of action - change of ownership).
The specification for Cyfluthrin has been updated for correction of detected typos in the cyfluthrin information section and identity section in the evaluation report 2003, as well as for the update of the most recent analytical methods and notes for the EW formulation.
The specification for Icaridin has been updated with the evaluation report 740/2026 (related to the summary of action - change of ownership).
The specification for Piperonyl butoxide (PBO) has been updated with evaluation report 33/2025 (related to Wujiang Shuguang Chemical Co. Ltd.’s PBO TC equivalence to the PBO reference profile – extension of the specification).
The WHO specification for Eucalyptus citriodora oil, hydrated, cyclized (EC Oil (H/C)) TK has been published.
The specification for Chlorfenapyr has been updated with evaluation report 570/2026 (related to Shandong Xinlong Group Biotechnology Co., Ltd.’s chlorfenapyr TC equivalence to the chlorfenapyr reference profile – extension of the specification).