Fourth meeting of the DDT Expert Group assesses continued need for DDT, 3–5 December 2012, Geneva
The Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention, under the guidance of the World Health Organization (WHO), allows the use of the insecticide DDT in disease vector control to protect public health.
Mosquito larvae
The Stockholm Convention lists dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, better known at DDT, in its Annex B to restrict its production and use except for Parties that have notified the Secretariat of their intention to produce and /or use it for disease vector control. With the goal of reducing and ultimately eliminating the use of DDT, the Convention requires that the Conference of the Parties shall encourage each Party using DDT to develop and implement an action plan as part of the implementation plan of its obligation of the Convention.
At its fifth meeting held in April 2011, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention concluded that “countries that are relying on DDT for disease vector control may need to continue such use until locally appropriate and cost-effective alternatives are available for a sustainable transition away from DDT.” It also decided to evaluate the continued need for DDT for disease vector control at the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties “with the objective of accelerating the identification and development of locally appropriate cost-effective and safe alternatives.”
The DDT Expert Group was established in 2006 by the Conference of the Parties. The Group is mandated to assess, every two years, in consultation with the World Health Organization, the available scientific, technical, environmental and economic information related to production and use of DDT for consideration by the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention in its evaluation of continued need for DDT for disease vector control.
The fourth meeting of the DDT Expert Group reviewed as part of this ongoing assessment:
- Insecticide resistance (DDT and alternatives)
- New alternative products, including the work of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee
- Transition from DDT in disease vector control
- Decision support tool for vector control.
The
DDT expert group recognized that there is a continued need for DDT in specific
settings for disease vector control where effective or safer alternatives are
still lacking. It recommended that the use of DDT in Indoor Residual Spray
should be limited only to the most appropriate situations based on operational
feasibility, epidemiological impact of disease transmission, entomological data
and insecticide resistance management. It also recommended that countries
should undertake further research and implementation of non-chemical methods
and strategies for disease vector control to supplement reduced reliance on
DDT.
The findings of the DDT Expert Group’s will be presented at the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, being held back-to-back with the meetings of the conferences of the parties to the Rotterdam and Basel conventions, from 28 April to 11 May 2013, in Geneva.
For more information about the fifth meeting of the DDT Expert Group, contact:
Mr. Gamini Manuweera, Programme Officer, Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, Tel. +41 (22) 917 86 04, E-mail: gamini.manuweera@unep.org
Mr. Michael S. Jones, Public Information Officer, Mobile +41 (0)79 730 4495, E-mail: msjones@pops.int
or visit the web pages of the DDT Expert Group