By Lemuella Tarawallie
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation, through its Malaria Control Programme and UNICEF with funding from Global Fund and USAID, on Thursday 2 November 2023 launched the Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLIN) and mass distribution campaign at the Bo mini-stadium in southern Sierra Leone.
The distribution of the LLIN started on Saturday 4th – and ended on Friday 10th November 2023. The aim of the launching and mass distribution was to make citizens realise that “sleeping under LLIN prevents malaria transmission up to 50%” and that it also “prevents malaria mortality in children up to 25%”.
During the launching the Resident Minister South, Mohamed K. Alie, noted that
he and his people were looking forward to work closely with development partners to accept and put measure in place so that the campaign would be a success story.
The Advisor for Malaria Initiative at USAID, Dave Schnabel, said “if the bed nets reach every household in Sierra Leone it will make a big difference in combating the fight against malaria.” He commended the Government of Sierra Leone and all development partners for their hard work.
The Head of Programmes at the Catholic Relief Service (CRS), Samuel Young, said over the last 14 years, CRS had been a collaborating partnership with the Ministry of Health, adding that that relationship had resulted into much collaboration which had been complementing the efforts of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in its health campaigns.
“Globally, CRS is focused on improving technical solutions to improving and creating large scale public health interventions such as the distribution of insecticide bed nets for the prevention of malaria”, Mr Young stated.
The UNICEF Country Representative, Rudolf Schwenk, said the distribution of the bed nets marked a significant milestone in their efforts to end malaria in Sierra Leone.
He added that the nationwide distribution of over five million insecticide and treated nets was a significant and strategic initiative that held the promise of saving countless lives in Sierra Leone.
Rudolf Schwenk noted that, “Malaria accounts for over two million hospital visits per year of which under-five children account for one million of these cases”. He noted further that even if one child was affected was one of many, adding that, “we need to protect our children and give them a chance to grow up healthy and to live to their full potentials.”
The U.S Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Bryan Hunt, said the free distribution of bed nets was to prevent the spread of malaria in Sierra Leone and that for this reason he was very happy and honoured to join other development partners to launch a health sector partnership that “directly addresses one of the leading causes of mortality in the country”.
Ambassador Bryan Hunt added that in point of fact, “successive Governments of Sierra Leone have been steadfast in their commitments to eliminate malaria, partnering effectively with the United States”.
He noted that in partnership with the United States, “Sierra Leone has made tremendous progress over the years in combating malaria, thanks to our collective efforts”.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Jalikatu Mustapha while launching the mass distribution of bed nets, said such campaign against malaria was not new in the country. She disclosed that prior to the launching, the distribution process, there was registration process to ensure transparency in the distribution of the bed nets.
Dr Jalikatu Mustapha thanked development partners such as CRS, UNICEF, USAID, Malaria Primary Initiative (MPI), and the National Malaria Control Programme. He also urged that they continue to work together to fight against malaria to save Sierra Leonean lives, especially under-five children.