Gerald Walulya
4 May 2004
Parliament — Lawmakers have attacked Lubaga South MP Ken Lukyamuzi for speaking out against the planned use of DDT to fight malaria.
Mr Lukyamuzi told the Parliamentary Committee on Social Services that DDT would be dangerous to people and animals.
"When I heard that Uganda is going to use DDT, I was saddened, I was hurt because it's environmentally hazardous," Lukyamuzi told the committee last week.
He said alternative measures such as the use mosquito nets could achieve a similar result.
However, his colleagues insisted that the harm caused by DDT is so minimal compared to that of malaria.
"We all know that malaria is the number one killer in Uganda, don't pass a motion on DDT because we want the lives of our people who give us akalulu [vote]," Ms Jane Alisemera (Bundibugyo Woman) said.
"I am looking for a day when we will campaign against malaria like we did for measles," Dr Herbert Lwanga (Bukoto South) said.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr Alex Kamugisha, assured MPs that the harm caused by DDT is insignificant.
"Because of the dangers caused by malaria, the country said enough is enough that is why we came out with a decision to leave no stone unturned until malaria is wiped out of Uganda," Kamugisha said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2004 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
