At the Stockholm Convention: PAN International statement on DDT

Thank you Mr President

I am from PAN Africa, speaking on behalf of PAN International.

PAN notes with concern the illegal use of DDT in agriculture and in the fight against diseases other than malaria, uses that are not listed as acceptable under the Convention.

PAN also notes that, in the long term, DDT is ineffective in the fight against malaria, as resistance is rapidly spreading across Africa. Ultimately, this fight can only be sustainably won by deploying ecological methods of control.

Global funding for malaria control has increased from US $ 960 million in 2005 to US $ 2.5 billion in 2014. But the search for alternatives to chemically-intensive malaria control has not been a priority and little funding has been directed to it.

There are highly effective approaches to integrated vector management not dependent on the use of DDT, that have proven successful for malaria control in the African, Latin American and Asian contexts. Methods include biological controls, environmental management, physical traps and natural plant-based insecticides.

PAN has been successfully engaged in the fight against malaria using ecological means for some years in communities in Africa.

PAN strongly rejects the use of DDT and urges all Parties to the Stockholm Convention to encourage alternatives to DDT and actively support ecological methods of fighting malaria.

PAN also calls on funders to urgently direct greater resources to the development of sustainable ecological approaches to the management of malaria, leishmaniasis and other vector-borne diseases.

Thank you Mr President