A series of controlled field trials has shown that insecticide treated mosquito nets and other materials (ITMs) can provide a roughly 25% decrease in under-five mortality. While indoor residual spraying for malaria control can be very efficacious - given the right infrastructure and resources, having an impact greater than we have ever yet seen with ITMs - it has not been practical or sustainable in a number of countries with the highest burden of disease, and ITMs are becoming the focus for community-based programs. The USAID supported NetMark initiative comes from the realization that the public sector is ill-equipped to deliver effective vector control or ITMs services to the entire population. Likewise, the financial risk generally is too great for manufacturers to individually create a market for their own ITM products. In a radical shift from traditional social marketing projects, NetMark has embarked on strategic commercial partnerships to develop a sustainable market for ITM services throughout Africa. It is exploring the degree to which commercial distribution can expand to supply the needs of most consumers, thus saving the scarce resources of the public sector for the poorest segments of a nation's population. NetMark is showing that the commercial sector can be engaged as an extension of the national health policy --not as a competitor or a substitute -- and that by expanding our public health definition of community to include the local shopkeeper and the supporting commercial network, we can tap new resources to meet both business and public health objectives.
Learning Objectives: (1) Recognize the role of low-cost, widely available insecticide-treated nets and other materials (ITMs) in public health malaria control programs; (2) Discuss the potential for strategic commercial partnerships to develop a sustainable market for ITN services in Africa, thus expanding commercial distribution to supply the needs of most consumers
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.