DDT spraying put on hold
Nov 08, 2004
THE Ministry of Health has been ordered to put on hold its plans to spray DDT, in a bid to undertake inquiries to establish its full effects.
By Gerald Tenywa
THE Ministry of Health has been ordered to put on hold its plans to spray DDT, in a bid to undertake inquiries to establish its full effects.
Sources said the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) gave the order recently in a letter to the health minister.
Until recently, the ministry had been insisting that would undertake massive spraying of DDT, a chemical, which is blacklisted globally, in a bid to eradicate malaria.
Gerald Sawula, the deputy executive director of NEMA yesterday said an expert opinion was needed before they could clear the exercise.
He said the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study considered the positive and negative effects of a proposed project and possible mitigation measures.
“It is not possible to go ahead and use DDT without fulfiling various obligations,’’ Sawula said, adding that the massive spraying would not take place soon.
Health state minister Dr. Alex Kamugisha last week said a consultative process was going on and that an anti-mosquito team would soon spray using DDT.
However, Sawula said the ministry was grappling with the strict guidelines of the World Health Organisation, which demands formulation of a policy that ensures safety of workers applying DDT.
“We have to be careful and also look at alternatives to the deadly DDT,’’ he said.
THE Ministry of Health has been ordered to put on hold its plans to spray DDT, in a bid to undertake inquiries to establish its full effects.
Sources said the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) gave the order recently in a letter to the health minister.
Until recently, the ministry had been insisting that would undertake massive spraying of DDT, a chemical, which is blacklisted globally, in a bid to eradicate malaria.
Gerald Sawula, the deputy executive director of NEMA yesterday said an expert opinion was needed before they could clear the exercise.
He said the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study considered the positive and negative effects of a proposed project and possible mitigation measures.
“It is not possible to go ahead and use DDT without fulfiling various obligations,’’ Sawula said, adding that the massive spraying would not take place soon.
Health state minister Dr. Alex Kamugisha last week said a consultative process was going on and that an anti-mosquito team would soon spray using DDT.
However, Sawula said the ministry was grappling with the strict guidelines of the World Health Organisation, which demands formulation of a policy that ensures safety of workers applying DDT.
“We have to be careful and also look at alternatives to the deadly DDT,’’ he said.