Persistent organic pollutants
EU's false insecticide fears pose real threat to Africa
IPN Opinion article
The European Parliament has recently agreed to ban scores of pesticides inside Europe on scientifically dubious and highly precautionary grounds. What EU policymakers failed to realise is how this legislation will harm the fight against diseases like malaria abroad.
EU’s “precaution” on DDT threatens lives of millions of Africans, says health charity
IPN Press release
A Chemical Kyoto
IPN Opinion article
Does the Rotterdam Convention promote better chemicals management and environmental protection? This article argues that the Convention - a system of trade restrictions for chemicals - is justified with the ideology of 'chemophobia', and will undermine access to existing and new technologies.
The Stockholm Convention: Who stands to gain?
IPN Opinion article
The great success of the global Green movement is in getting all \"right thinking people\" to buy into their ideas and philosophy. It would be hard to find anyone that would question the need to ban dangerous chemicals. And yet few people question the scientific legitimacy of the bans, and even fewer consider the unintended consequences on the health and economic wellbeing of those in the developing world.
DDT still saving lives
IPN Opinion article
The South African Department of Health reintroduced DDT in 2000 and in one year saw an 80 percent reduction in the number of cases. Since then malaria has almost become a rarity for physicians
It is not only in South Africa that DDT is saving lives. Dr. John Goyere from World Health Organization Africa estimates that over 16 million people in seven different African countries, including Ethiopia, Eritrea and Madagascar, are currently protected by the insecticide.
In an exciting example of private provision of public health, the Konkola Copper Mine in Zambia started malaria control in the two towns around its mining operations using DDT. As explained by Dr. Brian Sharp and others in a recent paper in the Journal of Tropical Medicine and International Health, after one spraying round, the number of malaria cases was dramatically reduced.
Deadly Bans
IPN Opinion article
Neo-Malthusian environmentalists pushed for a ban on DDT despite the fact that science didn't support them and that the insecticide saved lives in disease control around the world. Now, the EPA is convinced that the Stockholm Convention will be good for the health of those living in developing countries.
New Study Shows Tragic Consequences of Environmentalists' Campaign to Ban DDT
IPN Opinion article
Press release announcing publication of "Malaria and the DDT Story"
