Kampala — The Director of the Population Secretariat, Dr Jotham Musinguzi, has said the country cannot achieve its millennium development goals without first eliminating malaria.

"We must first fight malaria and then look at how we develop in a disease-free country," he said.

Musinguzi said this on Friday at a media debate on DDT, organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel. The organisation supports the use of DDT.

Some of the Millennium Development goals include targets to reduce poverty to at least 10 percent, improve health and education and to improve the environment.

Musinguzi said the country's GDP shows a striking co-relation between malaria and poverty, where malaria is estimated to reduce per capita growth by 1.3 percent per annum.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, malaria is one of the leading killers in the country with up to 80,000 deaths registered annually.

He said the government spends about $347 million to control malaria every year.

Musinguzi urged the government to expedite the spraying of DDT because it has been considered cheap and effective.

"DDT has an active ingredient which can last up to one year and you can imagine how good it can be for a poor country like Uganda," he noted.

Musinguzi dismissed claims that the pesticide was highly toxic and dangerous to humans and animals.

DDT, a colourless insecticide that the government plans to use in the control of malaria has been at the centre of controversy because of its long term effects on humans, food crops, animals and bird diversity.

The Director General of National Medical Stores, Dr Robert Rutaagi, said DDT has been globally found as the most efficient scientific method of malaria control.

He said more advanced countries than Uganda such as South Africa have used it.