News from Uganda

Government asked to check fish pesticides, Francis Kagolo, New Vision Online, December 2008

Uganda requires Shs35.2 Billion to manage DDT, Anisa Mahfoodh, Monitor Online, December 2008 

Biting truths from the world's malaria capital, The Weekly Observer, September 2008 

Lira district tops malaria list in the world,Omara Elem Lira, September 2008 

Uganda's DDT battle heats up, August 2008

On May 30, Uganda's High Court ordered a halt to the use of DDT and, in early August, AllAfrica reported that Uganda's Health Ministry began spraying a pyrethroid insecticide in Oyam and Apac -- two mosquito-ridden regions in the north -- in place of DDT. The Kampala-based New Vision Web site reports the court acted "after activists said [DDT] would cause harm." But the decision has proven controversial. With nearly 400 Ugandan's dying of malaria every day, Uganda's Attorney General is challenging the High Court's decision and, on August 14, the government announced new plans to apply DDT in western Uganda. The U.S. has provided $1.2 billion for malaria control programs including options like mosquito bed-nets, but John Ken Lukyamuzi, Director of the Crusade for Environmental Awareness, tells the Africa Science News Service "the government has opted to use the money on DDT alone, which is hazardous." Despite the controversy, Dr. Paul Saoke, Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility Kenya, is optimistic that, finally, "we have begun to roll back DDT use in Uganda."

DDT spraying stopped in Uganda, June 2008

On June 6, the Ugandan High Court in Kampala ruled that indoor residual spraying of DDT must stop. The country's health ministry had begun application of DDT to prevent malaria infection in February in the Apac and Oyam districts in the country's northern region, and was poised to expand the program across the country, reports AllAfrica.com. Groups of organic farmers, traders and conservationists had filed complaints that European buyers of organic products would refuse shipments if any traces of DDT were discovered. They claimed that the Health Ministry was not following rules for educating residents about the effects of DDT, had not followed "precautions on storage of crops, handling of utensils and farm implements," and were not in compliance with World Health Organization guidelines for DDT spraying. The court had first halted the program on May 30, pending submission of full petitions from the complaining groups. Successful community-based programs around the world are using bed nets, improved sanitation, community education, and tracking and early treatment to effectively control malaria. Under the international Stockholm Convention -- which calls for eventual phase out of all uses of DDT -- the international community has committed to help countries shift away from reliance on DDT for malaria control.

Ugandan farmers push for DDT ban, May 2008

Ugandan Government lawyers are battling farmers and agricultural exporters over the government's use of DDT to fight malaria. According to the Australian Broadcasting Company, the farmers are arguing that organic production businesses are being destroyed because many western countries refuse to import food containing traces of DDT. After spraying began in northern Uganda in April, agricultural exporters complained that the government had failed to follow the World Health Organization's strict guidelines on the use of DDT. Lawyers representing the exporters have received permission from Uganda's High Court to mount a legal challenge to the Government's use of DDT. The court has ordered a temporary ban on DDT spraying while the case is being heard.

Local groups oppose DDT spraying in Uganda, December 2007

Uganda's Ministry of Health is planning to begin DDT spraying to combat malaria in January, despite strong opposition from the Uganda Network on Toxic-Free Malaria Control. "While we are all more than willing to support a program to help us get rid of malaria," Ellady Muyambi, General Secretary of the Network, wrote in an open letter to the The Monitor, "spraying our homes with...DDT will destroy the delicate ecology of our poverty-torn country." Muyambi pointed out that "many of us do not have ceilings and windows to prevent the DDT spray from escaping out to the plants and animals." Muyambi wonders why Uganda's underfunded Health Ministry is spending so much energy promoting DDT as a "quick fix." Instead of using a toxic pesticide, Muyambi recommends safer approaches such as planting neem and other indigenous trees that are known to repel mosquitoes. When it comes to malaria, Muyambi argues, a "quick fix" is like "fast food." While fast food "may temporarily satisfy hunger, it causes sicknesses from obesity to heart disease." Similarly, DDT "will bring destruction to our environment and our bodies."

DDT Agenda is Suspicious, Ellady Muyambi, The Monitor May 10, 2007   

DDT - NGOs Threaten to Sue NEMA, The Monitor May 2, 2007