By Morlai Sesay
In a bid to prevent malaria in Sierra Leone, the Program Manager for the National Malaria Control Program from the Ministry of Health, Dr. Abdulai Mac-Falama, has in an exclusive interview on the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC), disclosed that 9.6 million family members which comprise 4.8 million households are to benefit from insecticide-treated nets across the country.
Falama updated the public that in Sierra Leone, Malaria accounts for two million hospital visits annually, of which one million cases are among children under five. He assured that after this massive campaign, the malaria burden would reduce drastically if the intended beneficiaries could effectively use the nets by sleeping under them all the time.
To hit their target the program manager disclosed that they are using the census data, which is 8 million plus, to hit their target. He said the campaign to register family members by household was done in two phases. The first phase was about the registration of family members and households, whilst the second phase had to do with the distribution, which he said is currently ongoing.
Asked about how the insecticide-treated nets work and the preventive methods, he explained that they form a protective barrier around people sleeping under them. However, insecticide-resistant bed nets are much more protective than untreated nets.
Falama further underscored that the insecticides that are used for treating bed nets kill mosquitoes, as well as other insects. "The insecticides also repel mosquitoes, reducing the number that enter the house and attempt to feed on people inside. In addition, if high community coverage is achieved, the number of mosquitoes and their length of life will be reduced. When this happens, all community members are protected, regardless of whether or not they are using a bed net. To achieve such effects, more than half of the people in a community must use an ITN", he affirmed.
Commenting on the number of nets given to a household, he stated that the distribution is based on the number of family members per household. According to him, if a household contains one to two people, they provide one voucher in exchange for two beds. He revealed that there are challenges with the distribution of insecticide-treated nets in some communities but that the Ministry is determined to ensure that they surmount those challenges so they could hit their intended target.
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