Difficulties facing vector control in the 1990s

Financial and technical support for vector control programs in developing countries have been reduced over the past decades. The cost of insecticides and environmental concerns are given as major reasons, but competition for the same resources with other important health problems is also a factor. This paper reviews some of the difficulties, especially managerial, that presently face vector control programs in developing countries. The need for vector control to expand beyond insecticide application and to develop approaches that require collaboration with other economic sectors and governmental agencies outside the health sector are discussed.