WHO Should Speak Out Against Opponents of DDT Use To Fight Malaria in Africa, Opinion Piece Says

Although the Roll Back Malaria partnership this week endorsed the use of the pesticide DDT to fight malaria in Africa, "Africans still face a battle with environmentalists and trade blocs who oppose this demonized pesticide," Philip Stevens -- director of the Campaign for Fighting Diseases, a group that seeks better health for poorer people through free-market means -- writes in an opinion piece in South Africa's Business Day (Stevens, Business Day, 11/10). RBM last week said that it hopes its endorsement of DDT will help prompt more African countries to use the pesticide, which is opposed by some environmental advocates concerned about its possible ecological effects. Although some African countries -- such as South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique -- have implemented malaria control strategies employing DDT, other countries have encountered resistance when announcing plans to introduce similar programs. The European Union earlier this year issued a warning to Uganda that its produce and flora exports to EU nations might suffer if the country implements a malaria control strategy employing DDT (GlobalHealthReporting.org, 11/8). Nongovernmental organizations and other Western governments also are "threatening to ban exports" in areas where the pesticide is used, according to Stevens. "These types of barriers will be used against African produce in Europe and the U.S. by governments and environmentalists unless the [World Health Organization] publicly and noisily takes the side of malaria victims," Stevens writes, concluding, "Africans must demand that RMB's plans include practical measures to save lives now with DDT, plus a campaign to counter the opposition of Western governments, NGOS and environmentalist pressure groups. Millions of African lives depend on it" (Business Day, 11/10).