After Successful Bed Net Campaigns in Ghana, Creating A Thriving, Sustainable Commercial Market

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Time was, there was a thriving market for bed nets in Ghana. A local tailor would craft one out of lace or other cotton fabric and families were protected as they slept from mosquitoes carrying the deadly malaria parasite. The nets weren’t perfect – they weren’t dipped in an insecticide that helps reduce the spread of malaria – but they did provide some protection and Ghanaians could buy them in the market.

Today, across Africa, there are an estimated 500 million bed nets, most treated with an insecticide that repels and kills mosquitoes, breaking the cycle of malaria transmission. Fifty-three percent of people sleep underneath one every night. The number of malaria cases on the continent has dropped, with 6.8 million lives saved since 2000. Sixty percent of that can be attributed to insecticide-treated bed nets. It’s the single most-effective tool against malaria.

Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (link opens in a new window)

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Health Care
Tags
infectious diseases