The International Training Programme accepts 25-30 participants from countries that seek to improve the management of chemicals. Registration for the second round of the programme is planned to open in the autumn of 2026.
International Training Programme (ITP)
During the period 2025–2028, the Swedish Chemicals Agency will organise and run the International Capacity Development Programme “National Chemicals Management – from Knowledge to Action”. The programme is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The programme consists of two programme sessions.
The programme is focused on how the control of chemical products at a national level can be established and organised. The programme deals, for instance, with how a country can develop its knowledge about the chemical substances and mixtures available to it, how to retrieve and communicate knowledge about the properties of the chemicals, and how to carry out risk assessments. It also looks at the different strategies a country can apply to achieve risk reduction and to introduce methods for checking compliance with the regulations.
The ITP will have 25–30 participants per a programme session. Each ITP session consists of a three-week training course in Sweden, which supports a change project. The individual change projects should be endorsed and financed by the organisations nominating the candidates to the ITP and be an integrated part of the work plan of the organisation. The results of the change project should be presented at a project seminar in the participant’s home country, about a year after the training in Sweden.
At a three-week training phase at KEMI in Sweden the participants have lectures, group discussions and workshops. They visit relevant authorities, industries, and organisations, and are given a broad view of national chemicals control.
The programme main beneficiaries are government officials working in ministries and authorities in cooperation countries. However, candidates from other relevant organisations with a responsibility and mandate to develop national chemicals management may also be considered. The programme covers all travels, accommodation and course material. Financial support for the change project is however not included.
The preliminary prioritised countries for the ITP are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Ukraine, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The course language is English, there will be no translation in other languages.
Registration
Registration for the first round of the programme is closed. The progamme's first round is running from February 2026 to May 2027, with a training phase in Sweden scheduled between April 13th to 30th, 2026. More information about the programme and how to apply can be found in the KEMI Training Portal External link.. You can find it in the Course catalogue in the right upper corner of the portal homepage.
You can find a complete description of the programme in the brochure National Chemicals Management - from Knowledge to Action External link..
A core feature in the programme is the change project, designed and implemented by each participant to address real challenges within their institutions. As part of the application, each participant must include a short description of their proposed change project. When selecting candidates to the programme, special emphasis will be placed on joint or coordinated projects.
Since projects must be aligned with institutional priorities and supported by leadership, workshops have been held in some of the preliminary prioritised countries to discuss specific issues, challenges and areas that could be addressed in the programme's application phase. To inspire project ideas, applicants can find a list of identified national challenges here External link..
Registration for the second round of the programme is planned to open in the autumn 2026.
Oscar Mwanzi, Kenya Pest Control Products Board, regulation and enforcement of pesticides.
- I really got the chance to learn more about compliance control of pesticides which was exactly what I wanted. My goal is to come up with simple tools to help small scale business operators in Kenya to identify the severity and the hazards of pesticides.
Merima Zekotic, Federal Ministry of Health in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
- The ITP-programme has been very useful for me. It has improved my understanding of regulatory implementation and given me a practical approach to establishing regulations.
Fortunate Ahumuza, Uganda Revenue Authority, Customs department.
- I appreciate that I have been able to learn about the aspects of legislation for chemicals control and the financing mechanisms. This can be replicated in Uganda. The project I plan to do in Uganda is to create an alert system to improve the control of pesticides that are imported into Uganda.
Polikseni Drazho, the National Food Authority of Albania.
- It has been very informative, I got to see and hear different perspectives, not only from KEMI but from the other participants. Different countries do things differently and that is good. It helps us to reflect and establish better methods to ensure not only food safety, but also better health and a safer environment.