Korea Human Resources Development Institute for Health and Welfare, 15 Years of Vector Control Training... 'Lack of Results' Under Fire

Field Still Reliant on Chemical-Only Control
Lee Kaeho: "Restore the Virtuous Cycle of 'Training-Field-Outcomes'"

Kaeho Lee, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

The Korea Human Resources Development Institute for Health and Welfare (hereinafter referred to as the Institute) has conducted infectious vector management (I.V.M) control training for 15 years at the request of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. However, criticism has been raised that this training has not translated into tangible results in the field.

Kaeho Lee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Damyang, Hampyeong, Yeonggwang, and Jangseong in South Jeolla Province, pointed out during the parliamentary audit of the Institute on October 28, "Despite the annual repetition of training, there is no system in place to verify the policy effectiveness in the field."

Assemblyman Lee stated that although the Institute provides I.V.M training to public officials, local governments, and private control personnel, there are no specific key performance indicators (KPIs) or post-evaluation systems to assess the effectiveness of field control after the training. He criticized, "Only formal evaluations with satisfaction scores in the four-point range are repeated, but there is no real change in the field, such as non-chemical control or larval blocking."

In particular, the Institute's response to the National Assembly's request for information-stating that "no KPIs are set for this specific program"-is seen as an admission of the institution's indifference toward measuring the policy impact of specialized training. This suggests that the training remains a mere administrative procedure and fails to be implemented in the field as a vector control policy directly linked to public health.

In reality, the field still shows a high dependence on chemical agents. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's "2024 National Control Status," 92.2% of all control measures rely on chemical spraying, while only 7.8% utilize biological control methods.

Furthermore, a 2022 survey found that about 20% of the Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes carried pyrethroid-resistant genes, indicating that the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s recommendations for prevention-focused larval stage blocking and reinforcement of biological and physical control are not being properly implemented.

Assemblyman Lee emphasized, "Vector control training should be the starting point for policy implementation, but the Institute's current training remains a form of 'formal satisfaction administration' disconnected from the policy field. Starting next year, we must quantify training outcomes and establish 'training-to-field linked KPIs' that can be applied in the field, ensuring that training leads to tangible results."

He also added, "Vector control policies directly related to public health should not remain at the level of simple training programs. We need to restore a virtuous cycle of 'training-field-outcomes' and present concrete annual training goals, such as expanding the proportion of non-chemical control methods."