Fifth Expert Group Meeting on DDT

Geneva, Switzerland, from 10 to 12 November 2014

Venue: International Environment House-1 (IEH-1), 11-13 chemin des Anémones, 1219 Châtelaine, Switzerland. 

Background: DDT is listed in Annex B of the Stockholm Convention with its uses in disease vector control as an acceptable purpose in accordance with Part II of Annex B of the Convention. 

The DDT expert group is established in consultation with the World Health Organization to assess, every two years, the available scientific, technical, environmental and economic information related to production and use of DDT.

The sixth meeting of the COP, concluded that countries that are relying on DDT for disease vector control may need to continue such use until locally safe, effective, affordable and environmentally sound alternatives are available for a sustainable transition away from DDT. It also decided to evaluate the continued need for DDT for disease vector control on the basis of available scientific, technical, environmental and economic information, including that provided by the DDT expert group at its seventh meeting, with the objective of accelerating the identification and development of locally appropriate, cost-effective and safe alternatives.

Meeting objectives: To facilitate the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Stockholm Convention in its evaluation of continued need for DDT for disease vector control.

Outcomes: The 5th meeting of the DDT Expert Group was attended by 18 experts representing 14 countries, WHO and UNEP. The experts observed, among other things, that:

  • There is no clear trend in global DDT production and trade over the past five year period. 
  • The management and the generation of an inventory of DDT stockpiles remains a global challenge. 
  • A range of potential substitute chemicals and new tools for vector control are under development. Some of these alternatives will be sufficiently developed for policy recommendation in the next two to five years.
  • The lack of capacity by national programs to monitor and respond to the increasing levels of insecticide resistance and outdoor transmission in malaria vectors is a serious threat to vector control programmes.

The DDT Expert Group recognized that there is a continued need for DDT for indoor residual spraying (IRS) in specific settings for disease vector control where locally safe, effective and affordable alternatives are still lacking.

Documents

 

DocumentEnglish
Provisional agenda31.72 K
Tentative schedule for the meeting312 K
Report of the meeting of the DDT Expert Group279.89 K
Report of the DDT expert group297.75 K

Paperless meeting

Printed documents will not be available at the meeting. Pre-session documents will be made available on the Convention website. In-session documents (such as conference room papers) will be available electronically via a wireless intranet or memory stick only.

Making a meeting paperless yields the benefit of considerably reducing the cost and the carbon footprint of the meeting. The cost savings may be used to support the participation of representatives. A paperless meeting also makes it easier for representatives to locate documents and allows for faster preparation and distribution of conference room papers.

To facilitate the paperless meeting, representatives are requested to follow these suggestions:

  • Each representative should bring a laptop computer containing basic applications, including Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat Reader and updated antivirus software.
  • Laptops should be free of viruses and pre-checked for viruses prior to arrival at the meeting. Virus-free laptops are crucial to the success of the paperless meeting.
  • Each representative should bring a memory stick for transferring documents. Like laptops, memory sticks should be virus‑free.
  • Laptops should be configured for a standard wireless (wi-fi) connection. If in doubt, please check with your local information technology expert.
  • Each representative should bring an appropriate adaptor to enable laptops to be connected to Swiss power sockets.
  • Each representative should include a current e-mail address when completing the meeting registration form in order to be able to receive correspondence about the meeting.  

Electricity

Voltage: 230 volts
Frequency: 50 Hz
Plug/socket: C (CEE 7/16) , J

 C (CEE 7/16)- photo Wikimedia Commons plug J - photo Wikimedia Commons

Your cooperation in heeding these suggestions is greatly appreciated and will ensure the success of the meeting.