World Malaria Day, 25th April: DDT is not the answer !

DDT - BioVision fights the return of this poison and promotes alternatives

The use of DDT in agriculture has long been banned and yet this notorious insecticide is being introduced again in many African states to combat malaria. Scientists warn of the effects. From May 4 – 8, 2009, signatory states of the Stockholm Convention will address this problem in Geneva. The BioVision Foundation wholly rejects the use of DDT and presents alternatives.

The specter of DDT

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), developed by the Swiss, Paul Hermann Müller in 1939, was lauded in the 1950s as a miracle substance for farming and for the control of disease-carrying insects. But this environmental poison accumulates in body tissues, and as it degrades it has effects similar to those caused by hormones. The substance was widely suspected of causing cancer in humans and it led to an enormous loss of species in the animal kingdom. In Switzerland it caused the near-extinction of the peregrine falcon. At the beginning of the 1970s, DDT was banned in most industrialized countries. In 2001 the Stockholm Convention came into effect; an international agreement on the prohibition of dangerous insecticides – the so-called persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which accumulate in the environment. The treaty made the use of DDT possible only in justified exceptional cases to control the mosquitoes that transmit malaria provided there were no effective, affordable alternatives available.

Increasing DDT use in Africa

At present, 14 African states acknowledge the use or plans to use DDT in combating malaria, among them; South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Ethiopia. Although only household use is intended, the more DDT circulating, the bigger the danger that the substance ends up in the environment or being used in agriculture. Examples of this exist already, as written by the secretariat of the Stockholm Convention in Geneva in its report of autumn 2008. None-the-less an increasing number of states are introducing DDT without being able to guarantee effective controls and correct usage. According to the report, 4000 to 5000 tons of DDT are used annually worldwide; a trend that is increasing.

A danger to humans and animals

Paul Saoke, director of Doctors for Social Responsibility in Kenya, warns against DDT and refers to the latest health studies in countries such as South Africa. These studies make it ever clearer that DDT used indoors even in small doses can pose a threat to inhabitants, which manifests itself especially in newborns. Use of DDT is unnecessary since malaria can be combated successfully using methods harmless to health and the environment. As Hans Rudolf Herren continually points out; "using DDT to fight malaria is the wrong way. The fact that the poison is efficient and cheap ceased to be a valid argument for me a long time ago – especially when one considers that no one talks about the consequences this poison inevitably generates. We have enough proof that the problem of malaria cannot be solved with this insecticide. Quite the opposite – the situation actually becomes even worse! "

The organic way

Projects supported by BioVision in Kenya prove that there are environmentally friendly ways to combat malaria. Together with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, icipe, BioVision carries out numerous projects in areas of Africa afflicted by malaria, covering more than 100,000 affected people. The people are informed of the danger presented by mosquitoes and are included in the elimination of breeding sites. Through a combination of various methods – treatment of stagnant bodies of water (breeding sites) with environmentally friendly Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis), distribution of bed nets and treatment of the malaria disease itself – the deadly cycle between human and mosquito can be broken. The approach used by BioVision and icipe is effective: malaria infection rates in the project areas fell dramatically within two years. In Nyabondo (Kenya), for example, cases of malaria among children under five fell from 60 to 20%. In Malindi (Kenya) the infection rate among school children fell from 38% to almost zero.

Advocating for environmentally friendly alternatives!

From the 4th to the 8th of May, the signatory states of the Stockholm Convention will meet in Geneva. There it will be debated how the ban against dangerous pesticides can be enforced. Experts have already discussed the case of DDT at a preparatory conference last November. Those taking part – among them representatives of BioVision from Switzerland and Kenya- have developed a business plan to promote environmentally friendly alternatives to DDT. Now the BioVision Foundation is counting on the support of Switzerland and other industrialized states at the conference in Geneva to gain wide acceptance for the ecological way to combat malaria.