HIL (India) Limited, a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, was recently in news as it supplied 20.60 Metric tonne of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), a key ingredient used in fertilizers, to South Africa. The supply is aimed at supporting South Africa’s malaria control program. The company is also preparing to render additional supplies of DDT to Zimbabwe and Zambia within the fiscal year of 2020-21.
Origins and Functions of HIL (India) Limited
Established in 1954, HIL (India) Limited’s primary responsibility encompasses manufacturing and supplying DDT to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, essential for controlling malaria. It is noteworthy that this Indian PSU holds a unique position on the global platform; it is the sole manufacturer of DDT worldwide.
Understanding DDT: Composition, Discovery, and Applications
DDT is characterized as a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound. It was first synthesized by the Austrian chemist, Othmar Zeidler, in 1874. However, the credit for discovering its insecticidal action goes to the Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Muller in 1939. Muller received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1948 for revealing DDT’s high effectiveness as a contact poison against arthropods, a group of invertebrates that include insects (Mosquitos), arachnids (Spiders), and crustaceans (Crabs).
Despite its initial development as an insecticide, DDT gained notoriety due to its adverse environmental impacts. Consequently, there was a global ban on its agricultural use, formalized under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. However, its restricted usage continues in disease vector control, attributed to its effectiveness in reducing malarial infections.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) endorses DDT as an efficient chemical for Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS), a key intervention that entails applying residual insecticide to internal walls and ceilings of housing structures to kill malaria vectors. DDT is prevalently used by Southern African countries like South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, and India for this purpose.
DDT Supplied to South Africa and Other Countries
The DDT supply from HIL (India) Limited will be utilized across three provinces in South Africa that border Mozambique, an area gravely impacted by Malaria. This region consistently reports maximum morbidity and mortality due to the disease.
HIL (India) Limited has also recently exported Malathion Technical 95% to Iran under a Government-to-Government initiative for the Locust Control Programme and Agrochemical-fungicide to the Latin American region.
The Global Impact of Malaria
Malaria, caused by Plasmodium parasites, is spread to people through bites from infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, termed “malaria vectors”. The disease persists as a significant global public health problem.
In 2018, approximately 228 million malaria cases were reported worldwide. Most of these cases (93%) and subsequent deaths hailed from the African Region. Among the South East Asia Region, India records the majority of cases and deaths.
World Malaria Report 2019 reveals that India reported 2.6 million fewer cases in 2018 compared to 2017, indicating a reduction in the overall incidence of malaria in the country. However, seven states (Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh) account for approximately 90% of India’s malaria burden.
