18 September 2006
The Ministry of Health welcomes the announcement by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) endorsing the use of indoor residual spraying with DDT and
other insecticides for the control of malaria.
South Africa is one of the few countries that supported and continued to use
DDT to address the challenge of malaria affecting at least three of our nine
provinces (KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga).
South Africa experiences unstable transmission of malaria thus making it
prone to malaria outbreaks. South Africa's response to malaria has been to use
DDT for indoor residual spraying as the main vector control intervention.
Mainly because of the re-introduction of DDT, the country has managed to
reduce the number of malaria cases from 64 868 in the year 2000 to 7 754 in
2005. The incidence of malaria has decreased from 15 per 10 000 population in
2000 to 2 per 10 000 in 2005 in malaria affected areas.
Indoor residual spraying using DDT has also been the main element of the
cross-border malaria control collaboration involving South Africa, Swaziland
and Mozambique. The three countries have worked together through the Lubombo
Spatial Development Initiative, leading to a dramatic decrease in malaria cases
in the Lubombo region.
In a statement, WHO said: "Programmatic evidence shows that correct and
timely use of indoor residual spraying can reduce malaria transmission by up to
90%. South Africa has again re-introduced DDT for indoor residual spraying to
keep malaria cases and fatality numbers at all-time low levels and move towards
malaria elimination."
Despite strong lobby against its decision to use DDT, South Africa has
played a leading role internationally in advocating for the recognition of
indoor residual spraying and use of DDT as a critical element of the efforts to
eliminate malaria particularly in the African continent which carries more than
80% of the burden of malaria in the world.
The Ministry of Health expresses its appreciation for the new position
adopted by the WHO on this matter.
Enquiries: Sibani Mngadi
Cell: 082 772 0161
Issued by: Ministry of Health
18 September 2006
