Durability monitoring of nets distributed through antenatal care

The Issue

Malaria prevention with insecticide-treated mosquito nets has seen a tremendous scale-up in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years. The importance of net durability is recognized as a critical factor to inform the frequency at which nets need to be replaced and the type of net to be procured. Durability monitoring is typically focused on nets distributed through mass campaigns. BASF and the Global Fund have commissioned Tropical Health to implement a durability monitoring study of nets distributed through antenatal care, a routine distribution channel in Mozambique. The work is closely coordinated with Mozambique’s National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) and the Mozambique National Institute of Health (INS).

Our Approach

Tropical Health, working alongside NMCP and INS in Mozambique, have recruited pregnant women who received nets during their first antenatal visit. The household of the women will be visited shortly after the net is received, as well as one year and two years after the net is received. A durability monitoring protocol developed by Tropical Health will be used to monitor attrition and physical durability of the nets. The results of this durability monitoring will be compared to the results of durability monitoring of nets received during the 2020 mass campaign in the same area in Mozambique.

Our Findings

Findings will be updated as the project progresses.