Health strict about mosquito nets

Mar 31, 2002

Nets that are not made of the required material, mesh dimension and size, will in future not be allowed on the market.

By Brian OurienNets that are not made of the required material, mesh dimension and size, will in future not be allowed on the market. This is in a bid by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and the Malaria Control Programme to enforce strict standards on mosquito nets.At a recent workshop to discuss the implementation of the standards, Dr Peter Langi, the Programme manager of the Malaria Control Programme in the Ministry of Health said the resistance of the malaria parasite to available drugs was worrying. The parasite’s resistance to chloroquine is said to be 30%, while its resistance to Fansidar is 10% countrywide.“This means that one can get treatment for malaria and still transmit it. We have now turned to insecticide treated materials (ITMs) to reduce on the spread of the disease,” Dr. Langi says.With over 70,000 child deaths per year due to malaria, it is estimated that over 25,000 child deaths could be prevented every year through the use of treated nets alone.Dr Langi says that the target of the Malaria Control Programme is to increase the proportion of children under five years who are protected by ITMs from 5% to 50%.Dr Mesaki Mubiru, the Kampala Director of Health Services, says the problem is that the poor people, even those in urban areas may find the nets very expensive. “It is an ideal situation but even the urban poor cannot access the nets at that price (about sh 8,000). We should increase on the sensitisation and maybe on the subsidy of government,” he says.The World Bank estimates that Uganda spends about US $ 50 million on Malaria control.ends

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