DDT

DDT is a toxic chemical sprayed on the walls of houses to repel and kill mosquitoes to reduce cases of malaria in countries. Costs: Disrupts food chain - DDT travels up the food chain in greater and greater concentrations Highly absorbed into soil Not sustainable Strong public opinion that it is a nasty product Realistically only protects you at night Western donors banned DDT so they won't finance it Requires government training and equipment which is costly Benefits: Reduces number of mosquitoes Helps prevent deaths from malaria Reduces pressure on healthcare Introduction of DDT reduced malaria deaths in India from 800,000 to 0 Family stability - less parental deaths Costs a quarter as much as the next cheapest insecticide Malaria reduces a country's economy by 20% in 15 years so the use of DDT would reduce this