Mozambique’s National Malaria Control Programme distributed 4 million LLIN, insecticide-impregnated nets, to protect children and others from malaria as they sleep, the time most malaria-infecting mosquito bites occur. Malaria Consortium photo
Mozambique is one of only ten nations still using DDT for Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) to fight malaria.
But DDT’s effectiveness diminishes rapidly, as does the effectiveness of the other eleven insecticides generally used for IRS against malaria or other vector-borne diseases. Insecticides are sprayed indoors, and not outdoors, to provide protection where humans are most often bitten, and to prevent non-target mosquitoes and other creatures from being exposed to the insecticides. This prevents harmful pests from developing resistance to the insecticides, and diminishes damage to beneficial species, like food fish.
Instead of spraying, malaria fighters turn increasingly to bednets impregnated with insecticide, known as Long-Lasting Insecticide-impregnated Nets (LLIN). A net provides closer to 100% protection from bites than IRS. A net immediately protects anyone sleeping under it, while IRS must treat at least 80% of nearby homes to achieve more than 50 percent prevention.
While still using IRS, Mozambique stakes its future malaria fighting on nets.
The Malaria Consortium aided in the recent distribution of nets.
Malaria Consortium has successfully completed a mass distribution campaign of over four million long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) across Nampula and Niassa provinces in Mozambique. The nets were distributed almost simultaneously across all districts of each province – 23 districts in Nampula in November 2016, and 16 districts in Niassa in May 2017 – using a new operational model aimed at optimising resources.
Throughout the campaigns, Mozambique’s National Malaria Control Programme was responsible for the LLIN acquisition and led overall planning and implementation through the decentralised structures of the health system. Malaria Consortium’s role consisted of operational support, which included financial management, transport, procurement, logistics, training, management of service providers, efficient use of resources and effective coordination at provincial, district and field levels.
Sonia Gwesela, Malaria Consortium Mozambique Country Director said, “In Nampula Province, a major achievement was that 99 percent of households collected their nets. We successfully delivered 98 percent of the nets in both provinces, coming well above the 90 percent target set by the National Malaria Control Programme.
“With the successful completion of the distribution, we can now focus on a post-distribution communications campaign about the correct use of LLINs,” she concluded.
The Malaria Prevention and Control Project is funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and supports the efforts of the Mozambican government to reduce malaria throughout the country through scale up of prevention and control efforts with community involvement. Malaria Consortium is working in partnership with World Vision, Fundacao para o Desenvolvimento da Comunidadeo, International Relief and Development, and the Mozambique Ministry of Health.
Bednets can be twice as effective as IRS in preventing the spread of malaria. Beating malaria also requires upgrading health care for quick diagnoses and quick, complete treatment of malaria in humans, and prevention projects to drain mosquito-breeding places within 50 yards of homes; more prevention of bites means less medical treatment is required.
WHO estimated 5 million people died of malaria in the 1950s into the 1960s. WHO’s Malaria Report 2016 reported malaria deaths fell to less than 430,000 world wide, a more than 90 percent reduction since 1963, mostly accomplished without DDT.
Malaria Consortium on Twitter, @FightingMalaria.
Posted by Ed Darrell 
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