RACHEL CARSON'S LEGACY OF DEATH:

Helping the Pearl of Africa (Fiona Kobusingye-Boynes, 03/15/2004, Tech Central Station)

Fighting malaria is not only a humanitarian need. It is also economically important, both for the developing countries and for aid providers like the United States. Something most people don't realize is that the same African countries that are most infected by malaria are also the poorest ones on our continent. That is because the disease makes so many millions of people in those countries too sick and weak to earn a living or cultivate their fields.

What can be done to save our people? The first thing we need is more support for medical research, to develop new medicines and help people who are already sick with malaria.

Second, we must try to kill the mosquitoes by spraying them. I know many well-meaning people say DDT is not good for the environment. But it is still the only fully effective means to kill the mosquito that causes malaria. It also keeps them out of our houses, because the mosquitoes do not seem to like the smell of DDT. And the way we use it won't hurt animals, birds or fish, because we just spray it on the walls of our houses.

Nothing works as well as DDT, and it is the only pesticide that the mosquitoes are not resistant to. We only need to spray tiny amounts on our houses one or two times a year and we are protected. Without DDT, the mosquitoes are everywhere, and they come into our homes and bite us whenever they want.

If people in Africa are to be saved, we must stop the primary cause, the mosquito that carries malaria. Of course we are concerned about our environment. We live in it. But should we not be concerned about our loved ones, our people, first?

Third, and just as important, we must help develop sanitation systems and dry out puddles and swamps that are breeding grounds for mosquitoes. We can educate our people about malaria. We can let them know that it is preventable -- that they must begin to take some responsibility themselves to eradicate this terrible disease from their families and our country. But we must have pesticides, too. We must have DDT.