NetsforLife reduces malaria by 45 per cent in African communities

AN Initiative working to eliminate malaria in Africa, known as Netsforlife has reduced the rate of the disease by 45 per cent in more than 5,000 communities across 17 sub-Saharan African countries Tanzania included. In Tanzania, a total of 155,020 Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets have been distributed to selected areas since 2006 through the financial support of its corporate partners Coca-Cola, and Standard Chartered, the initiative has saved the lives of more than 100,000 children under five. NetsforLife has trained nearly 74,000 community volunteers to distribute nets and teach people how to prevent malaria, since it started in 2006. As a result, more than 8.5 million malaria nets have been delivered to communities where malaria is prevalent and 25 million people have been educated about the mosquito borne disease. Shaun Walsh, the Executive Director of NetsforLife said in a statement he issued early this week that her organization has managed to save lives of thousands of people through help they had been receiving from their donors who share their knowledge of malaria prevention with others. NetsforLife hopes its achievement inspires other corporate partners to join the fight to eliminate malaria reads part of a statement. Through its network of local churches, faith-based groups and NGOs, NetsforLife can access remote communities typically unreached by national health programmes. The initiative, however, depends on donations for malaria net distribution and malaria education campaigns. Netsforlife ids also seeing the benefits of community education which is leading to positive behavioral change around the use of life-saving malaria nets. According to the initiatives, more than 85 percent of households in the communities where it operates now own at least two mosquito nets, compared to around six percent of households in 2006 Nine out of 10 people are aware that malaria is caused by a bite from an infected mosquito compared to four out of 10 people in 2006. Through the joint efforts of governments, health organizations and Non Governmental Organizations like NetsforLife, overall reduction of global malaria-related deaths by one third in the last decade, largely as a result of the distribution of nets and raising awareness of malaria prevention.The statement further says that NetsforLife has made a positive impact in Tanzania. Over 3,000 Malaria agents have been trained from 2006, and through working with the Malaria agents, 873,490 people have been sensitized and educated about Malaria prevention in Tanzania. NetsforLife is a partnership of corporations, foundations and faith-based organizations working to eliminate malaria in Africa. The program partnership includes ExxonMobil, Standard Chartered, the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, Starr International Foundation, the J.C. Flowers Foundation and Episcopal Relief & Development.