UNICEF backs ambitious effort to cut child malaria

UNICEF backs ambitious effort to cut malaria child deaths

More than a million mosquito nets are being distributed in the Central African Republic (CAR) in a bid to protect children and pregnant women from malaria.

The joint UNICEF-Government of the CAR effort aims to put at least one long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito net into each of the country’s 896,000 households in the coming months.

UNICEF CAR Representative, Tanya Chapuisat, says that Malaria is one of the main causes of child deaths in CAR, and the nets are part of a strategy to reduce Malaria’s impact on young children and pregnant women.

The country has one of the highest child mortality rates in the world. Some 173 out of 1,000 children die before reaching their fifth birthday, and malaria accounts for an estimated 19 per cent of these deaths.

Ms. Chapuisat says that UNICEF CAR needs an additional 1.5 million long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito net and almost $1.5 million for logistical costs to be able to achieve full coverage for all people at risk of malaria.

Regular use of the special nets can decrease malaria mortality by about 20 per cent and malaria incidence by 50 per cent in children aged under-five, who, together with pregnant women, are most at risk. When combined with early diagnosis and treatment, the use of the special nets can reduce malaria mortality by over 50 per cent.

UNICEF and partners will be distributing the special nets directly to the communities in three phases. With the rainy season fast approaching, this is a timely campaign to protect hundreds of thousands families at risk from the disease in CAR.

The mass distribution will go hand-in-hand with a social mobilisation campaign that will educate people on the importance and benefits of sleeping under the special nets. “We don’t want to just distribute the nets, we want people to use them,” says Ms. Chapuisat. “If necessary, we will go door to door to demonstrate how to hang up a net and to persuade every family that it could save their children’s lives.”

Continuous instability in the north of the country is making it difficult to reach large parts of the population, including over 300,000 internally displaced, returnees and refugees from neighbouring countries.

Kiwis can support UNICEF NZ’s UNDER COVER malaria campaign. For just $11 you can buy a mosquito net and help keep children safe from the scourge of malaria. There are also other ways to help. Find out more: www.unicefundercover.org.nz

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