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Decade-long US project to fight malaria builds thriving African mosquito net industry
September 17, 2009In a decade-long initiative to protect millions of families from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, a U.S. government-funded project helped sell 50 million bed nets in seven countries, crafted a voucher system to allow the poor to receive them for free or partial cost, and created enough incentives for private companies that they invested $88 million to expand their businesses, according to results released today by AED at a conference held at the National Press Club.
This new commercial approach also helped reduce the price of insecticide-treated mosquito nets by 30 to 70 percent. Now, those nets sell for between US$4 and US$7.
The NetMark project, a $67 million, USAID-funded public-private partnership to prevent malaria, ends September 30, but the bed net market continues to thrive in seven countries where it operated-Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Zambia. Not only did the U.S. investment help spur major spending by private companies-for every $1 in public funds, African and international businesses spent $1.30-the new commercial sector now exists.
"We worked ourselves out of a job. They don't need us anymore, and I'm proud of that," said Juan Manuel Urrutia, AED's Johannesburg-based deputy director of NetMark. "There are now 41 African distributors who will continue to sell thousands or millions of nets in those seven countries. The voucher system is now entrenched."
Malaria, a preventable and treatable disease, is one of the biggest killers of young children in Africa. Overall, the disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, kills an estimated 1 million people annually, the vast majority of them in Africa. One of the most effective preventive measures against malaria is to sleep under insecticide-treated bed nets, which are a finely woven barrier and kill most mosquitoes upon contact.
NetMark, which started in 1999, worked like this: It formed partnerships with international net and insecticide manufacturers and African distributors to create retail markets. Under NetMark, all parties worked together to launch the commercial marketing of insecticide-treated nets, or ITNs. The distributors put the nets into retail outlets. And the stores, most of which hadn't been selling bed nets, soon found a demand for them in part because of NetMark's national awareness campaigns on the benefits of using insecticide-treated nets.
Later, NetMark created a discount voucher system in which people who could not afford the nets brought the voucher to a retailer, who was later reimbursed by the program. It fulfilled two goals-making sure families in poverty would get the nets for free or low cost, and the storeowner's business was not undercut. The results were indisputable. Two examples: Awareness of insecticide-treated nets among Ugandan women grew from 23 percent in 2000 to 98 percent in 2006; and 2.1 million African families used a voucher for a net from a commercial outlet. Other groups, embracing the concept, started voucher systems of their own.
"Before NetMark began, families could not go to the market and buy a life-saving insecticide-treated net, and now they can," said AED President Stephen F. Moseley. "This program made treated nets easily accessible to everyone."
Admiral Timothy Ziemer, U.S. Malaria Coordinator, said the project helped build a "culture" of bed net use. "U.S. investments through NetMark contributed to dramatically expanding the availability and use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets in Africa," he said.
An estimated 70 to 80 percent of all bed nets in Africa are giveaways, according to studies. AED's experience shows, though, that a commercial market can thrive side-by-side with public handouts, becoming an important complement to the free distribution. Not only does the market offer choice of different types of nets to Africans who can afford them, but analysts believe it is vitally important to keep the market alive: It creates a new commercial sector and it provides a backup system for net distribution if donors' funding drops due to the current global financial crisis or to other emerging health threats.
"One thing we have learned again and again in public health is that if you have a couple of approaches and strategies, it's a lot better than to have only one," said Professor Christian Lengeler, head of the Heath Interventions Unit at the Swiss Tropical Institute, an independent academic foundation.
Lengeler and others believe that the AED-NetMark model in establishing a commercial distribution system for bed nets-supported by direct sales and with vouchers-can be replicated to fight other public health challenges.
Jeffrey L. Sturchio, President and CEO of the Global Health Council, praised the initiative for creating a model that will last. "This project shows the surprising results that come from combining creativity, commitment, and commercial innovation on global health issues," he said. "It also shows that novel partnerships, bringing the public and private sectors together, can achieve impressive improvements in public health in a way that is reliable and sustainable."
Academy for Educational Development
"We worked ourselves out of a job. They don't need us anymore, and I'm proud of that," said Juan Manuel Urrutia, AED's Johannesburg-based deputy director of NetMark. "There are now 41 African distributors who will continue to sell thousands or millions of nets in those seven countries. The voucher system is now entrenched."
Malaria, a preventable and treatable disease, is one of the biggest killers of young children in Africa. Overall, the disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, kills an estimated 1 million people annually, the vast majority of them in Africa. One of the most effective preventive measures against malaria is to sleep under insecticide-treated bed nets, which are a finely woven barrier and kill most mosquitoes upon contact.
NetMark, which started in 1999, worked like this: It formed partnerships with international net and insecticide manufacturers and African distributors to create retail markets. Under NetMark, all parties worked together to launch the commercial marketing of insecticide-treated nets, or ITNs. The distributors put the nets into retail outlets. And the stores, most of which hadn't been selling bed nets, soon found a demand for them in part because of NetMark's national awareness campaigns on the benefits of using insecticide-treated nets.
Later, NetMark created a discount voucher system in which people who could not afford the nets brought the voucher to a retailer, who was later reimbursed by the program. It fulfilled two goals-making sure families in poverty would get the nets for free or low cost, and the storeowner's business was not undercut. The results were indisputable. Two examples: Awareness of insecticide-treated nets among Ugandan women grew from 23 percent in 2000 to 98 percent in 2006; and 2.1 million African families used a voucher for a net from a commercial outlet. Other groups, embracing the concept, started voucher systems of their own.
"Before NetMark began, families could not go to the market and buy a life-saving insecticide-treated net, and now they can," said AED President Stephen F. Moseley. "This program made treated nets easily accessible to everyone."
Admiral Timothy Ziemer, U.S. Malaria Coordinator, said the project helped build a "culture" of bed net use. "U.S. investments through NetMark contributed to dramatically expanding the availability and use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets in Africa," he said.
An estimated 70 to 80 percent of all bed nets in Africa are giveaways, according to studies. AED's experience shows, though, that a commercial market can thrive side-by-side with public handouts, becoming an important complement to the free distribution. Not only does the market offer choice of different types of nets to Africans who can afford them, but analysts believe it is vitally important to keep the market alive: It creates a new commercial sector and it provides a backup system for net distribution if donors' funding drops due to the current global financial crisis or to other emerging health threats.
"One thing we have learned again and again in public health is that if you have a couple of approaches and strategies, it's a lot better than to have only one," said Professor Christian Lengeler, head of the Heath Interventions Unit at the Swiss Tropical Institute, an independent academic foundation.
Lengeler and others believe that the AED-NetMark model in establishing a commercial distribution system for bed nets-supported by direct sales and with vouchers-can be replicated to fight other public health challenges.
Jeffrey L. Sturchio, President and CEO of the Global Health Council, praised the initiative for creating a model that will last. "This project shows the surprising results that come from combining creativity, commitment, and commercial innovation on global health issues," he said. "It also shows that novel partnerships, bringing the public and private sectors together, can achieve impressive improvements in public health in a way that is reliable and sustainable."
Academy for Educational Development
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A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites.
Research calls for better assessment of tests for tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria
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Small nanoparticles bring big improvement to medical imaging
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Prioritizing low-cost, simple health measures would save 2.5 million child lives a year
Almost a third of the children under age five who die each year could be saved if governments rebalance health spending to ensure low-cost, simple interventions such as safe water and hygiene, bed nets and basic maternal and newborn care, leading aid agency World Vision said today. Currently, 8.8 million children a year die before age five, most of preventable causes.
Drug industry, nonprofits join forces to fight world's neglected diseases
Drug companies and nonprofit organizations are joining forces to develop new drugs and vaccines to target so-called "neglected" diseases that claim millions of lives in the developing world each year.
U.S. and European Experts Applaud Creation of New Transatlantic Task Force on Global Antibiotic Resistance Threat
Experts on both sides of the Atlantic applaud President Barack Obama and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, representing the European Union (EU) Presidency, for establishing a transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance, an urgent and growing problem that threatens patient safety and public health worldwide.
1930s drug slows tumor growth
Drugs sometimes have beneficial side effects. A glaucoma treatment causes luscious eyelashes. A blood pressure drug also aids those with a rare genetic disease.
DNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more
The scientific ability to quickly and accurately identify species through DNA "barcoding" is being embraced and applied by a growing legion of global authorities - from medical and agricultural researchers to police and customs authorities to palaeontologists and others.
PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative shares strategy for developing 'next-generation' malaria vaccines
Marking its tenth anniversary year, the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) today unveiled a new strategy that sets the stage for an aggressive push targeting the long-term goal of eliminating and eradicating malaria. Malaria is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, killing nearly 900,000 people a year, most of them children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Global challenges and opportunities in fighting HIV/AIDS and neglected diseases
Responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and tackling so-called neglected tropical diseases are the focus of the November/December 2009 edition of Health Affairs.
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The Making of a Tropical Disease: A Short History of Malaria (Johns Hopkins Biographies of Disease) by Randall M. Packard (Author) Malaria sickens hundreds of millions of people -- and kills one to three million -- each year. Despite massive efforts to eradicate the disease, it remains a major public health problem in poorer tropical regions. But malaria has not always been concentrated in tropical areas. How did other regions control malaria and why does the disease still flourish in some parts of the globe? From Russia to Bengal to Palm Beach, Randall Packard's far-ranging narrative traces the natural and social forces that help malaria spread and make it deadly. He finds that war, land development, crumbling health systems, and globalization -- coupled with climate change and changes in the distribution and flow of water -- create conditions in which malaria's carrier mosquitoes thrive. The combination of... |
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The Malaria Capers : More Tales of Parasites and People, Research and Reality by Robert S. Desowitz (Author) "Reads like a murder mystery. . . . [Desowitz] writes with uncommon lucidity and verse, leaving the reader with a vivid understanding of malaria and other tropical diseases, and the ways in which culture, climate and politics have affected their spread and containment."—New York Times Why, Robert S. Desowitz asks, has biotechnical research on malaria produced so little when it had promised so much? An expert in tropical diseases, Desowtiz searches for answers in this provocative book. . |
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Humanity's Burden: A Global History of Malaria (Studies in Environment and History) by James L.A. Webb Jr. (Author) Humanity's Burden provides a panoramic overview of the history of malaria. It traces the long arc of malaria out of tropical Africa into Eurasia, its transfer to the Americas during the early years of the Columbian exchange, and its retraction from the middle latitudes into the tropics since the late nineteenth century. Adopting a broadly comparative approach to historical patterns and processes, it synthesizes research findings from the natural and social sciences and weaves these understandings into a narrative that reaches from the earliest evidence of malaria infections in tropical Africa up to the present. Written in a style that is easily accessible to non-specialists, it considers the significance of genetic mutations, diet, lifestyle, migration, warfare, palliative and curative... |
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First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and a Third World Adventure Changed My Life by Eve Brown-Waite (Author) In this laugh-out-loud funny memoir, a pampered city girl falls head over little black heels in love with a Peace Corps poster boy and follows him —literally–to the ends of the earth. Eve Brown always thought she would join the Peace Corps someday, although she secretly worried about life without sushi, frothy coffee drinks and air conditioning. But with college diploma in hand, it was time to put up or shut up. So with some ambivalence she arrives at the Peace Corps office–sporting her best safari chic attire –to casually look into the steps one might take if one were to become a global humanitarian, a la Angelina Jolie. But when Eve meets John, her dashing young Peace Corps recruiter, all her ambivalence flies out the window. She absolutely must join the Peace Corps -... |
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GIANTmicrobes: Malaria (Plasmodium Falciparum) [Toy] by Giant Microbes GIANTmicrobes are fun and educationala great way to learn about various health topics and the microscopic critters that are found in and around us. Each microbe character is 5-7 in size--over a million times their actual size! Perfect for teachers, parents and budding scientiststhey also make humorous gifts. Each microbe comes with an information tag including scientific name, an image of the actual microbe, and a mini history and science lesson. Not suitable for children under 3 years. Our products are made by top manufacturers who care about toy safety, quality and value. Your order will ship factory fresh directly from our warehouse to your door. We carefully inspect and beautifully package every order before shipment to ensure that you receive high quality products that are... |
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Molecular Approaches to Malaria by Irwin W. Sherman (Editor) "Molecular Approaches to Malaria" provides an overview of the rapid and significant developments that have occurred in malaria research, including the 2002 genome sequencing of Plasmodium falciparum and its mosquito vector, Anopheles gambiae. This work: provides a concise source of up-to-date research findings; appeals to a diverse audience, including malaria researchers, teachers, investigators, and public health professionals; offers contributions by recognized malaria researchers with practical experience; and, presents comprehensive coverage of topics including a clearly written introduction to Plasmodium molecular biology. |
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Malaria: Fever Wars Starring: Artist Not Provided |
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Sea to Summit Personal Mosquito Shelter (Double) by Sea to Summit An indispensible item for traveling or backpacking in bug infested regions. The Sea to Summit Mosquito Net shelters are small, light and compact. Available in a Permetherin treated version. Handy stuff sack for easing packing included. Double version has 22 spreader pole that packs down to 6. |
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