Around 700,000 people die every year from Malaria. Most of these are children in Africa. Although some progress has been made in recent years, this disease remains a serious global health problem. While most people understand that malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes and can be controlled and cured, the battle against it is complex and difficult. And increasingly clear is that anti-insecticide activism by environmentalist groups is seriously undermining the fight.

The fight against malaria relies on two main interventions – controlling mosquitoes with safe and effective insecticides, and treating patients with malaria medicines. Both these interventions face the problem of resistance, either by the mosquito against the insecticide or the malaria parasite against the medicine. Thanks to advocacy, public policies and commitments from the pharmaceutical industry, progress has been made in keeping slightly ahead of parasite resistance and ensuring access to effective medicines. Regrettably the same cannot be said for insecticides.

Only four classes of insecticide are approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for public health purposes. Within these classes, only twelve insecticides are available for indoor residual spraying (IRS) (one organochlorine, six pyrethroids, three organophosphates and two carbamates). Although it may seem there is sufficient variation among these alternatives, not all are always suitable and their costs vary enormously. For cash-strapped African countries and donor agencies with shrinking budgets, small variations in cost could significantly affect malaria control with devastating consequences for millions of people.

Pyrethroids are used extensively in agriculture and are also the only approved class of insecticide ...