ENVIRONMENTALISTS FEAR-MONGERING IN UGANDA
Anti-malaria spraying in Uganda has hit a few snags:
RESIDENTS of Mawanga zone, Munyonyo, near Kampala city, have blocked the spraying of their homes against mosquitoes, over DDT fears. Many residents stopped the workers of Balton, the company handling the job, from entering their premises yesterday.There's no excuse for the government failing to keep Ugandans informed as to when their homes are to be sprayed and which insecticide will be used. There's also no excuse for environmentalists working against the spraying program; needless deaths could result. Such is the Silent Spring legacy.
Some said Balton was using DDT, which some environmentalists have warned has serious side-effects on people’s health. But Balton earlier this week said it was using an insectcide approved by the WHO.
In the long-run, the Government plans to spray DDT inside houses as a means to eradicate mosquitoes which carry the parasite that causes malaria, the number one killer disease in Uganda.
posted by Anonymous at 5:08 PM |
3 Comments:
Gosh, is this the fear-mongering Tim Lambert insists does not exist?
If malaria posed a serious risk to my family and DDT was appropriate to the circumstances I'd ring up the government and ask that the spraymen be sent around.
As for your second guessing of the Ugandan government's choosing DDT -- its decision to use DDT in line with WHO policy -- it appears that you think Ugandans aren't up to making their own decisions as to how best to tackle malaria. You aren't racist, are you?
u-j, I can certainly understand that locals are reluctant to allow spraymen into their homes, not having been given prior notification. That said, it's going to be difficult for locals to accept indoor spraying if environmentalists are waging an anti-DDT fright campaign.
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