Malaria is one of the major global health problems and has a
devastating impact on many populations, particularly in Africa.
The main tools and strategies currently employed to control
malaria are medicines for its prevention and treatment, and
chemicals to control the mosquito vectors. Chemical strategies
focus on insecticide treated nets and indoor residual spraying.
But these chemical applications pose established and suspected
risks for human health and the environment. Medical and chemical
approaches can become ineffective through development of
resistance – by mosquito vectors to chemicals and by parasites
to pharmaceuticals. The widely-banned pesticide DDT is still
used in many countries to control the vectors of malaria, even
though the legally binding Stockholm Convention on Persistent
Organic Pollutants (POPs) calls for its global elimination.