The Ministry of Health has intensified the distribution of free mosquito nets across the country to curb malaria infections in the populace especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry also went ahead to to teach recipients of the nets on how to keep them well treated and the safer way of using them in order to get value from them.
‘When using a long lasting treated mosquito nets at home, please make sure it is properly hanged to avoid creating small gaps or holes that help mosquitoes find their way inside’ a ministry of health official told mothers at a health centre in Kabale.
The use of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLINs) is one of the recommended measures to prevent malaria.
Proper usage of nets is important
The Ministry of Health has from the start of the year been distributing square long lasting treated mosquito nets that are easy to fix on the bed using strings on the four corners.
Dr Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health insists that village teams should get enough training so that when distributing mosquito nets, they first teach every beneficiary on how to use them.
She says the malaria disease constitutes over 10 % of Africa’s overall disease burden, accounting for 40 % of public health expenditure, 30–50 % of in-patient hospital admissions and up to 50 % of out-patient visits in endemic areas.
“We are trying to fight malaria disease in our household by distributing 27 million long lasting treated mosquito nets. Proper usage is addressed through the many campaigns done by Ministry of Health”, Dr Atwine said.
However most people do not mind when they are fixing their mosquito nets. The nets come with strings and screws to fix on the walls or wood but some people do not care about fixing them. They end up being feasted on mosquitos that cause malaria.
Use of mosquito nets can tame malaria
Bed nets are the commonest malaria prevention tool and arguably the most cost-effective. Their efficacy is because they prevent mosquito bites (a function of physical durability and integrity), and kill mosquitoes (a function of chemical content and mosquito susceptibility).
Mosquito nets still achieve substantial epidemiological impact, suggesting that physical integrity, consistent use and population-level coverage are increasingly more important properties.
The public health value of nets is increasingly driven by bite prevention, and decreasingly by lethality to mosquitoes.