To clarify, it's not "Africa and Asia". Only India, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are still using DDT actively.
The paper says a bunch of countries don't use DDT for malaria control but it doesn't say if they still use DDT in agriculture. They used to use it for pest control growing coffee
As an Indian... I had no idea. I've seen fumigation a lot right from childhood (kids used to run after the fumigation man to inhale that fog), with that sweetish smell it had. Of course it's possible it was pyrethroids... not like they don't cause allergic reactions either haha welp
The DDT scare was a hoax
Funny, the bald eagle populations beg to differ and there is a whole other group of people who say polio was a hoax driven by DDT (both sides are probably crazy)