Perhaps you didn't understand that comment
Perhaps I did, and Sowell doesn't know what the meaning of "is" is, so-to-speak. DDT is still being used for malaria control.
The ban of DDT did not cause millions to die from malaria - Science
1 Summary
On various websites dedicated to science and politics, usually of conservative persuasion, it is often alleged that the ban of the insecticide DDT, motivated by concerns about its damaging effects on the environment, has caused tens of millions in avoidable malaria fatalities over the last couple of decades. This position is untenable in light of the following scientific and historic facts:
1. DDT is banned internationally for use in agriculture, but its use in malaria control remains permitted under the regulations of the Stockholm Convention. The production of DDT and its use in malaria control have never been discontinued.
2. While DDT is cheaper than most other insecticides, cost of manufacture has risen in proportion to that of petroleum, the major required raw material. Moreover, like other insecticides, DDT selects for resistance in the targeted insect vectors. Rising cost and widespread resistance, not regulation, are the key reasons for the limited and declining worldwide use of DDT.
3. Most malaria fatalities occur in Africa. On this continent, no comprehensive effort has ever been made to control or eradicate malaria; instead, all such projects occurred only on a local or regional scale, and many were abandoned after only a few years.
4. In the most severely affected parts of the world, only a small fraction of malaria cases are actually seen by health care workers or recorded by health authorities. Regardless of the tools employed, effective malaria control is impossible with such inadequate levels of organization and preparedness |
