Dichloro-Diphenyl-Tricholoroethane or DDT is a pesticide that was widely used to control the spread of malaria in the latter part of the 20th century around the world. DDT may prove to be effective in killing malaria-carrying mosquitoes but on the other hand, its health impact to the environment, animals and human beings overweigh its benefits. This led to the banning of its usage by mostly developed countries in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Assessing its benefits (effectiveness in malaria prevention) and risks (animal, environment and human) from research studies, this paper finds that DDT usage in malaria control is riskier because of its short and long-term effects on the environment, animals and human beings. However, regulation in the form of interventions from the World Health Organization and other institutions is the best way to eradicate malaria and limit the concentrations of DDT on the environment.
This paper discusses the outbreak of malaria in the early part of the 20th century and the usage of DDT in pesticides to control the spread of mosquitoes that carry the disease. It includes its impacts on the lives of people living in the African region. It also shows the research findings of World Health Organization, International Programme on Chemical Safety, and other scholars on the effects of DDT on the environment particularly on human beings. Malaria Outbreak Impacts on Humans The World Health Organization (2008) reports 247 million cases of malaria among the 3. 3 billion affected in 2006.
This resulted to over a million deaths from 109 malaria-endemic countries in 2008 wherein 45 of those countries are in the African region Douglas Collin (2007) cites the report of World Health Organization of malaria being the cause of more than a million casualties annually around the world wherein most of the deaths are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. Children and infants are accounted in majority of the deaths as malaria is accounted to be the cause of death of one every five children around the world. Malaria is also associated with anemia for women during pregnancy, low birth weight for infants, and childhood anemia.