NEWS: Malaria Consortium distributes close to a million nets in South Sudan.

19 August 2009

Malaria Consortium is in the process of handing out over 800,000 mosquito nets in Southern Sudan in order to save lives in one of the world’s most deprived regions.

The Malaria Consortium has been active in the region for a number of years, stepping in to support the rebuilding of a health infrastructure that was effectively destroyed by 21 years of civil war. Focusing its efforts on Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, Malaria Consortium has already distributed 221,000 highly-effective Long Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets (LLINs) thanks to money donated in 2003 from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. When a health survey revealed that only 3.6 % of households in this particular state had nets in 2006, funding to distribute another 606,000 LLINs was made available.

After the current distribution effort has been completed, the allocation of nets to other Southern Sudanese states including Unity State and Upper Nile State is planned should further funding by secured.  If so, Malaria Consortium could soon be handing out its millionth mosquito net in a region which suffers some of the world’s worst child and maternal death rates.

Net distribution is just one part of the Malaria Consortium’s efforts to eliminate the burden of malaria on South Sudan’s development. Educational campaigns help ensure nets are used properly while research is being conducted to chart their success in cutting incidences of the killer disease.

Malaria Consortium has also been working with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to support the construction of an effective and durable health infrastructure in Southern Sudan. In the first phase of this partnership, Malaria Consortium supported the Ministry of Health to develop the national system framework. The second phase of DFID funding has allowed Malaria Consortium to strengthen health services at state and county level to establish an effective service delivery within this national framework.