Ms. Noluzuko Gwayi of South Africa and Mr. Gordo Jain of Germany co-chaired the meeting which was attended by its members, delegates of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention and observers.
The assembly endorsed the strategy proposed by the Interim Steering Committee as the way forward for the implementation of the Global Alliance towards achieving its goals and thereby realizing the broader objectives of the Convention to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants. The members agreed to support the implementing strategy by adopting the members’ declaration.
Initially, the Global Alliance will focus on the following four action points within the five themes of interventions to establish the foundation for implementation of its strategy:
- Develop a harmonized registration system for new vector-control chemicals and products, commencing with a pilot study in selected disease-endemic countries;
- Strengthen entomological capacity at all levels to manage new vector control products, technologies and resistance management strategies;
- Collect evidence on public health values of interventions with emphasis on non-chemical, non-commercial, community-based and environmental interventions;
- Develop advocacy and resource material in order to promote public awareness, understanding, and participation in IVM and related cultural and programmatic practices.
The Global Alliance was officially launched at the extra-ordinary Conference of the Parties of the three chemicals conventions in Bali in 2010. Although it has not set a deadline for the elimination of DDT, the Global Alliance has the goal to eliminate the reliance of DDT for disease vector control by strengthening countries capacities to deploy safer alternatives. Moreover, it triggers significant action in support of the development and deployment of alternatives to DDT, though it does not undertake substantive operations related to vector control or research. The Global Alliance also provides opportunities for stakeholders to contribute to the development and deployment of alternatives to DDT through a flexible and inclusive mechanism.
The Global Alliance also coordinated a poster competition on Innovative Alternatives to DDT used for malaria vector control organized by the Biovision Foundation, Switzerland, in support of achieving the objectives of the Global Alliance. During the first assembly, of the eight posters selected for the occasion, Mr. Harrysone Atieli, from Kenya, and Mr. Emmanuel Chanda, from Zambia, received two prize awards of USD 15,000 each for their outstanding work presented under the titles of “House design modifications reduce indoor resting malaria vector densities in malaria endemic, lowlands of western Kenya” and “Integrating larval source management in the national malaria control programme in Zambia”, respectively.
| The Global Alliance for the development and deployment of alternatives to DDT - First Alliance Assembly (presentation by the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention) |
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| The Global Alliance for the development and deployment of alternatives to DDT - First Alliance Assembly (Meeting Report) |
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