03 Jun World Malaria Day in Guinea: Celebrating the distribution of 8.8 million insecticide-treated bed nets to over 16 million Guineans
On April 25, World Malaria Day 2019, the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) in Guinea celebrated the launch of a national long-lasting insecticide-treated net (LLIN) distribution campaign in Fria prefecture, north of Conakry. The ceremony was chaired by the Minister of Health, and attended by the US Ambassador to Guinea, Simon Henshaw, as well as representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism, the US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) / USAID health team, and all of the NMCP’s implementing partners, including HRH2030, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) – principal recipient to the Global Fund, Stop Palu+, UNICEF, and others. This year’s World Malaria Day theme, “Zero palu, je m’engage,” or “Zero malaria starts with me,” and the slogan for the distribution campaign, “Let’s all sleep under mosquito nets,” were widely spread across the country.
By the time the campaign finishes in June, a total of 8,849,878 LLINs will have been distributed across the country’s eight regions, reaching an estimated population of 16,081,482 – or one LLIN for every 1.88 persons. The NMCP will coordinate home visits following the distribution, to ensure that recipients are properly hanging the mosquito nets, and that they know to hang them every night throughout the year.
This year’s campaign launch is expected to have a significant impact, considering that the NMCP forecasted a need for 3.5 million additional nets compared to the country’s last mass distribution campaign, in order to effectively fight malaria in 2019 and beyond. HRH2030, through our Capacity Building for Malaria (CBM) activity, helped to organize a stakeholder outreach meeting on how to best address the resource gap, resulting in a partnership with the Against Malaria Foundation for the free supply of 4,800,000 LLINs to Guinea to help fill the identified need. Logistics and planning for both the World Malaria Day event and bed net distribution campaign were also supported by HRH2030-CBM’s senior advisor in Guinea, Dr. Youssoufa Lo.
Malaria is one of the most severe health issues in Guinea, where the entire population is at risk of contracting the disease. According to the Ministry of Health, malaria is the primary cause of consultations, hospitalizations, and deaths in the general population. HRH2030 has been working with the NMCP in Guinea to identify and overcome obstacles that prevent it from achieving its malaria control goals. The example of partnering with the Against Malaria Foundation to ensure an adequate supply of mosquito nets is one instance of how the HRH2030 senior advisor is providing support to the NMCP in Guinea to attain its goals and advance the country in its fight to end malaria.
Read more about World Malaria Day here.
Photo: The U.S. Ambassador to Guinea, Simon Henshaw, distributes LLINs to beneficiaries in Guinea. Credit: Guinea NMCP