STOIC Posted April 14, 2006 Mr Javier Solana Secretary General Council of the European Union Rue de la Loi, 175 B-1048 Bruxelles, BELGIUM 6 April 2006 Dear Mr Solana, EU position on Indoor Residual Spraying with DDT for Malaria control in Uganda You may be aware of the colossal global burden caused by malaria in both human and economic costs. Yet the disease is both entirely preventable and curable. One way to control the disease is to spray tiny amounts of insecticide on the inside walls of houses – known as Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS). The insecticide either kills or repels the mosquitoes and has been shown to be an extremely effective way of protecting man from the Anopheles mosquito (the malaria mosquito). There are several insecticides that can and should be used in IRS. One of them is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane or DDT. DDT is an essential public health insecticide which led to the eradication of malaria from Europe shortly after the end of the Second World War. In recent years, growing evidence and an improved understanding of the role that it plays in malaria control has led to significant policy changes in malaria control. The World Health Organization lists DDT as a recommended public health insecticide. The Stockholm Convention gives DDT an exemption for use in public health. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria authorizes the use of DDT and funds its use. Recently the US Agency for International Development (USAID) recognized the need to purchase DDT as part of the new President’s Malaria Initiative. The EU is not proactively supporting malaria control as compared with the priority given to HIV and AIDS. We are not aware of any EU-supported development agency that is currently buying or supporting the use of DDT. Willfully ignoring an essential public health medical intervention is medical malpractice – in essence this is what EU development support for malaria control policies amount to. However matters are made worse by remarks made by the EU Chargé d’Affaires in Uganda, Mr Guy Rijken. The Ugandan Ministry of Health has stated on more than one occasion that it wishes to introduce DDT as one of the insecticides in its IRS program. Media reports in February 2005 quoted Mr Rijken as saying “…we are concerned about the impact large scale DDT use would have on Uganda’s exports of food products to the EU if a decision were made.†He went on to state “we urge Government not to use DDT.â€[ii] More recently Tom Vens, the head of Economic, Trade and Social sectors at the EU delegation to Uganda claimed that DDT would cause cancer if ingested and that Uganda would be “taking a risk†if they went ahead with DDT use[iii]. There is no conceivable scientific basis to the charges made by Mr Rijken and Mr Jens. The threats are arbitrary as there are approximately 10 countries in Africa currently using DDT and yet none have been singled out as Uganda has. This EU position has created confusion, misinformation and has hampered Uganda’s malaria control program, costing countless lives. On 29 September 2005 the Financial Times reported that Gerhard Hesse with Bayer Crop Science supported the EU threats of economic sanctions[iv]. Bayer Crop Sciences produces alternative insecticides to DDT and in an email exchange with malaria scientists, Mr Hesse noted that DDT is a commercial threat. It seems the EU is using the threat of economic sanctions to halt the use of DDT by other donors or sovereign governments. This interference in public health programs is unacceptable. Additionally people are sick and dying because European businesses like Bayer Crop Sciences use the EU’s position to further their own commercial interests. None of Mr Rijken’s or Mr Jens’s comments nor the media reports surrounding those by Mr Hesse has been accompanied by any official statement or clarification by the EU. We therefore request a clear statement on the EU’s position on the use of DDT in malaria control and its position regarding agricultural exports from any country that uses DDT in malaria control. The confusion and misinformation following the EU’s statements in Uganda has cost lives and damaged Uganda’s malaria control program and this must halt immediately. We would appreciate a response before 25 April, which marks Africa Malaria Day. Yours faithfully, Richard Tren & Roger Bate Africa Fighting Malaria cc: Hon. Minister Jim Muhwezi, Minister of Health, Uganda Hon. Minister Sam K. Kutesa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Uganda Adv. B. Gawanas, Africa Union Commissioner for Economic Affairs Hon. Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, Minister of Health, Republic of South Africa Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, United Kingdom Senator Tom Coburn (R, OK) United States Senate Dr Arata Kochi, Director, Global Malaria Program, World Health Organisation Dr Kent Hill, Acting Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Global Health, USAID Sigurd Illing, EU Delegation to Uganda Linda Hales, EU Desk Office for Uganda SOURCES: I am sorry my computer is not behaving well today...You can check this in "Africa fighting malaria" website My take on this issue ....... The African countries are fighting for the right to use DDT to eliminate mosquitoes. It seems that the European Union wants to impose sanction on any country that dare to use DDT. This is a slap in the face of African countries that are dying of malaria. DDT is one of the most important insecticides ever to appear in the market, but also one of the most controversial pesticides in the history. I do believe that the use of pesticide should ideally be based on the knowledge of what they accomplish and what effect they might have in the ecosystem. Malaria was once a serious problem in America, but today it is practically non-existent, largely because of the use of DDT after the World War II. If the insect vector can be eliminated, malaria will today cease out in Africa. The only promising insecticide today is the DDT. According to the EPA website DDT is probable cancer causer. There is no one scientific study that has directly connected DDT to cancer! DDT does cause a thinning of the eggshell of birds, but there is little evidence that DDT residue is toxic or has major effect on human. Trade, science, and capitalism shape modern pest control. Commercialization is creating a strong influence on what insecticide can be sold in the market. Rich companies in the west largely shape the market. Pesticides sells are chosen to fit the economic gain of these companies. Think about this for a minute If DDT is today used by the African countries, who is going to buy all those medicines from these companies? They have to sell their products, right? There is a double standard here. I wonder if the west will ever be willing to return to the middle ages where transmission of a preventable disease were constant ticket to the hospital beds? I think it is time that the western world stops listening to the interest groups and pay attention to the millions of African children dying of malaria. If science is what provides tentative information about risk then we should pay attention to the numerous studies that have failed to determine the harmfulness of DDT. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Libaax-Sankataabte Posted April 18, 2006 Good read. Thanks STOIC. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
