聯合國官方三機構6日共同發布聲明表示，過去全球廣泛使用DDT來撲殺傳染瘧疾的病媒蚊，然而為能在驅蚊的同時又保護人體健康，已有40多個國家準備試驗採取其他替代化學殺蟲劑的措施來對抗瘧疾。
所謂非化學性的措施包括，剷除病媒蚊潛在的滋生地、家中裝設紗窗紗門以及吊掛蚊帳、種植驅蚊植物以及飼養專吃孑孓的魚。
這次倡議的目標預計在2014年前削減全球30% DDT的使用量，若目標來不及達成，仍希望在2020年代初，逐步完全停用DDT，且應配合世界衛生組織制定進程，完成減少瘧疾的目標。
WHO秘書長陳馮富珍指出，「WHO面臨著雙重挑戰：一方面須致力達成永續且徹底撲滅疾病病媒蟲的重任，尤其是瘧疾；另一方面又須努力減少依賴使用DDT來控制病媒體」。
墨西哥與中美洲地區在過去5年成功利用非殺蟲劑技巧與得當的管理制度，大幅削減60%的瘧疾病例發生，因此接下來非洲、西地中海與中亞地區將依循這個成功的經驗，成立新的計劃採行非化學的替代技巧來杜絕病媒蚊。
這項新計劃是由目前於日內瓦開議中的斯德哥爾摩公約（亦「稱持久性有機汙染物公約」）成員國家宣布。
在斯德哥爾摩公約的效力之下，各締約國政府已同意在環境及人體健康方面，下令禁止使用包括DDT在內的12種持久性有機汙染物質。
不過在此之中卻有個特殊的例外，即允許使用DDT來控制瘧疾疫情蔓延，因為在某些情況下，替代性措施並未能發揮作用、有效遏制疫情。
DDT濃度過高隨時可能會影響人類的中樞神經，導致容易出現興奮、擅抖以及疾病發作等症狀。從實驗室裡的白老鼠身上可以發現，DDT有辦法仿照成天然的賀爾蒙，進而影響生殖與神經系統的發展。
事實上，醫學專家對於使用DDT早已有健康上的顧慮，而隨著愈來愈多的證據顯示，在許多國家中，殺蟲劑對病媒蚊已不再構成威脅，也使得專家們更加憂心。
不過，對使用DDT的顧慮以及對全球瘧疾疫情的憂心，兩者之間相輔相成。每年2.5億件的事件總會造成超過88萬人因此喪生。因此，任何可以替代DDT的措施，皆必須足以抵擋瘧疾疫情繼續升溫才行。
In an effort to rid the world of the pesticide DDT, used to fight the mosquito that transmits malaria, 40 countries are set to test non-chemical methods to combat the deadly disease, three United Nations agencies announced today.
The non-chemical techniques range from eliminating potential mosquito breeding sites and securing homes with mesh screens and bed nets to deploying mosquito-repellent trees and fish that eat mosquito larvae.
The goal is to achieve a 30 percent cut in the application of DDT worldwide by 2014 and a total phase-out by the early 2020s if not sooner, while staying on track to meet the malaria reduction targets set by the World Health Organization.
"WHO faces a double challenge - a commitment to the goal of drastically and sustainably reducing the burden of vector-borne diseases, in particular malaria, and at the same time a commitment to the goal of reducing reliance on DDT in disease vector control," said WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan.
The new projects planned for Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia follow a successful five-year demonstration of alternatives to DDT in Mexico and Central America where pesticide-free techniques and management regimes have helped cut cases of malaria by over 60 percent.
The new projects were announced in Geneva during the ongoing meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, known as the Stockholm Convention.
Under the Stockholm Convention, governments have agreed to ban a "dirty dozen" persistent organic pollutants, including DDT, on environmental and health grounds.
A specific and limited exemption was made for the use of DDT to control malaria, because it was recognized that in some situations adequate alternative control methods were not available.
High levels of DDT can affect the human nervous system causing excitability, tremors and seizures. Studies in rats have shown that DDT can mimic the action of natural hormones and so affect the development of the reproductive and nervous systems.
Health officials have expressed a long-standing and growing concern over the use of DDT and evidence that in many countries there is increasing mosquito resistance to the pesticide.
Still, concern over DDT is matched by concern over the global malaria burden. Close to 250 million cases a year result in over 880,000 deaths. So any techniques used to reduce the use of DDT must ensure that a spike in malaria cases does not result.
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