DDT Use for Malaria Control Raises Health, Environmental Concerns

The call for a total ban of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane), a synthetic insecticide used in malaria-endemic countries that causes harm to the environment and human body, has sparked a debate. Some people canvass its anti-malarial benefits while others cite its harmful effects on the environment and human health.

Bontle Mbongwe, a Botswana academic and associate professor of Environmental Health and Toxicology at the University of Botswana says any decision to ban DDT should be supported by evidence from an assessment of its risks to human health and the environment. Mbongwe is among the newest members of the DDT Expert Group established under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, an international environmental treaty signed in May 2004 that aims to eliminate and restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants.

DDT is one of the organic pollutants listed under the Convention. Statistics show that the global use of DDT for disease vector control declined from 10 countries using it for Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) in 2010 to five countries in 2019.