Rwanda: No DDT, Ministers Confirm

The New Times (Kigali)

January 4, 2007
Posted to the web January 4, 2007

Innocent Gahigana
Kigali

Rwanda won't use of Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane (DDT) to control malaria, cabinet ministers have confirmed. Lands and Environment Minister Christophe Bazivamo and Dr Innocent Nyaruhirira, State Minister for HIV/Aids and other Infectious Diseases,

said in separate interviews yesterday that the stance was in respect to the international protocols against the use of DDT. "We can't apply DDT yet there are international conventions against its application. The international ban still stands," said Bazivamo.

He added that apart from being dangerous to humans and environment, the chemical's use could cause side effects on agriculture "which our country is keen on developing."

"We have contacted the Ministry of Health to scrutinise the liability of using DDT for malaria control, and we're waiting for their reply. But what I can assure you is that the government hasn't adopted such chemical to fight malaria," Bazivamo said.

Contacted for comment, Dr Nyaruhirira said that his ministry had recommended that DDT shouldn't be used in the country.

This is contrary to last year's recommendation by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that DDT was applicable in the war against malaria in developing countries.

He said that the ministry's recommendation was arrived at after protest against use of the chemical by the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA).

"REMA told us the side effects of using DDT and for the meantime we have proposed the use of pyrethroid type of chemical, 'ICON', which would even help us promote our pyrethrum products," Nyaruhirira said.

He said REMA's arguments were valid. REMA Director General Rose Mukankomeje was the first public official to publicly protest WHO's recommendations on DDT.

Following the world body's resolution some countries including the neighbouring Uganda okayed the use of DDT.

Bazivamo said that DDT had the potential to affect Rwanda's cash crops such as tea and coffee on the international market.

Initial suggestions that that the chemical could not be used in Rwanda came from REMA officials last week.