Treated bednet material (4)
---------------------------
Source: malaria@wehi.edu.au
I would like to add my support to what Jo Lines has so clearly
written regarding treated bednets.
1. We have a number of bed net sewing projects. In terms of cost to
the Programmes we can not justify sewing because the final cost is
more than what we have to spend for Thai nets including the
transportation. The fact that the sewing generates income for
communities; that there is a pride in having produced the nets
locally; and that they can customize the designs to meet local
conditions, all outweigh the higher cost. For example, one of our
groups has come up with a jumbo size net that is a hot seller
because it fits well with local sleeping patterns.
At the moment nearly every malaria control programme is at the
mercy of the net factory outside of Bangkok. They have setup an ad
hoc range of sizes, shapes and colors for nets that have become
the world standard because no one else seems to want to make nets.
They also set the price of netting rolls. There are many small
factories elsewhere in Asia but when approached, the response is
always how many nets can you guarantee we can sell? Given the
nature of funding for malaria control projects this is a question
that can not be answered honestly. There has to be a great profit
in net production so why aren't there more businessmen interested?
2. It is clearly a mistake to sell pre-treated nets. Having
communities participate in the treatment links, as Jo points out,
the presence of the insecticide and the effectiveness of the nets.
It also demonstrates the safety of the insecticide.
3. Re-treatment is the biggest problem and one that most bed net
projects fail to plan for. Only recently I saw in Sabah, Malaysia
a programme where re-treatment rates were consistently over 86%.
People were lining up to have their nets treated. It was clear
that people there clearly saw the benefits of the insecticide and
the impact of the nets on malaria transmission. This was unusual
for this part of the world. Elsewhere the re-treatment rates
average in the 20-40% range. People are often more likely to ask
for new nets than to bring out old one for re-treatment.
Jo's point, and I agree with him is that insecticide treated nets are
a not yet fully understood malaria control method. They produce
results but often for unexplained reasons.
The major need now, at least in Asia where the vectors are An. dirus,
An. balabacensis or An. farauti, is for some sort of passive form of
person protection that can be "installed" and used outside during the
early evening before people go to sleep. Some sort of outdoor bed
net!
Kevin Palmer
WHO, Solomon Islands
mailto:kpalmer@welkam.solomon.com.sb
--
Send mail for the `AFRO-NETS' conference to `afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org'.
Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'.
For additional assistance, send mail to: `owner-afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org'.