World Malaria Day

On April 25, 2011 NetsforLife^® commemorated the fourth annual World Malaria Day themed Achieving Progress and Impact. World Malaria Day is meant to remind us that a global commitment to malaria control has been made and is still essential to protecting and providing treatment for all people at risk of contracting malaria, which claims approximately 800,000 lives a year.

In keeping with this year’s theme, NetsforLife^® is working to ensure that sustainable gains on both the national and community levels of its malaria prevention approach are maintained. Through community engagement, education, and monitoring and evaluation, NetsforLife^® works in 17 malaria-endemic African countries and collaborates with international agencies, national programs and local malaria stakeholders to combat malaria by instilling a 'net culture': a community-wide understanding of the protective value of nets and the right way to use and care for them. In countries where NetsforLife^® has been active for a number of years, there is now renewed focus on maintaining people’s working knowledge of how malaria is transmitted and how it can be prevented.

The goal for the current phase (2008-2013) of the NetsforLife^® program partnership is to distribute 7 million nets in sub-Saharan Africa. So far, the program has distributed over 4.8 million nets, trained nearly 43,000 malaria control agents, and directly reached almost 9 million community members with messaging. From net use to symptom recognition and treatment-seeking behavior, all NetsforLife^® metrics show significant progress in malaria prevention in program areas.

Still, challenges in malaria control continue as the world races to achieve universal coverage (defined as one net for every two people) and the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of reducing malaria-related deaths by 75%. While we appreciate recent accomplishments, there is much more to be done.

According to the latest statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO):

• 42% of households in Africa owned at least one ITN (Insecticide Treated Net) in mid-2010, and 35% of children slept under an ITN.
• The percentage of children using ITNs is below the WHO target of 80%.
• Low rates of use are primarily due to a lack of sufficient nets to cover all household members.

Currently there is a huge effort to ensure that malaria nets reach those who need them the most, and recent measures indicate that progress is being made. A total of 254 million ITNs were delivered to countries in sub-Saharan Africa between 2008 and 2010 – enough to cover 66% of the 765 million people at risk. Eleven countries showed a reduction of more than 50% in either confirmed malaria cases or admissions and deaths in recent years.

However, as the WHO report points out:

• While the rapid scale-up of ITN distribution in Africa represents an enormous public health achievement, it also represents a formidable challenge for the future in ensuring that the high levels of coverage are maintained.
• The lifespan of a long-lasting ITN is currently estimated to be three years.
• Nets delivered in 2006 and 2007 are therefore already due for replacement, and those delivered between 2008 and 2010 soon will be.

In fact, this is exactly what we are seeing amongst our NetsforLife^® partners in Africa, and it is the challenge we face until malaria is eradicated – something that is not going to happen anytime soon.

We know from our program monitoring and evaluation that net distribution only gets you part of the way to prevention. What matters most is proper net usage, for the right people, every night.

So we have a three-fold challenge in malaria prevention:

• Ensuring universal Insecticide Treated Net coverage
• Sustained proper usage of those nets
• Net replacement after three years of use

On World Malaria Day NetsforLife^® reiterates its commitment to facing existing challenges and fighting for a future where malaria is no longer an epidemic and children, who are the most vulnerable, are safe from its path.