The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, several insecticide vendors in the markets we visited, and some users interviewed by AFC have all denied the presence of Celphos insecticide, rejecting its existence in the country.
Brief Verification:
A message shared in several WhatsApp groups a few days ago, confirmed through an audio recording, claimed that an insecticide with the label “aluminum phosphide” in the form of a tube with a deadly substance is circulating in the CAR.
However, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, some insecticide vendors, and users contacted by AFC have denied seeing this product circulating in the country.
Verification:
Contacted by phone, Gan-Selé Gbadin, Director General of Standardization and Quality at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, confirmed after verification:
“I can assure you that to date, my monitoring stations have not reported the presence of this product in the Central African Republic. I have never seen such products in our markets, so this is misleading information.”
Interviewed on March 27, 2023, Achim Dosmbaye, owner of a mini-market called Mini-Supérette des Castors in the 3rd arrondissement, stated that he had not seen this product: “I started my business in 2014 with food before becoming a mini-market in 2022, and I have not seen such an insecticide among the products we frequently purchase for our customers.”
“I regularly use various insecticides, but this is the first time I have seen such a product,” noted Mahamat Bachir, an insecticide user residing in KM5, 3rd arrondissement of Bangui.
Further verification on the WHO website shows no information about a product called “Celphos” and confirms that it has never been circulated in the Central African Republic.
An information claim about the circulation of a lethal insecticide in the CAR has been thoroughly investigated by AFC, and no presence of the lethal Celphos insecticide has been reported in the Central African Republic.
By Boris Zékéma / AFC
This article is produced as part of the AFC-Internews partnership funded by USAID. However, the content does not reflect the responsibility of the partner.
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