By Blackson Mkupatira

Dedza, August 24, Mana: Government, through the Ministry of Health, has rolled out a mass distribution exercise of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLINs) in five districts that were not accommodated during the 2021 exercise due to shortage of supply.

The districts are Dedza, Phalombe, Machinga, Ntheu and Chiradzulu.

Speaking during an orientation of LLIN district task force and supervisors in Dedza on Wednesday, LLIN National Task Force Chairperson Esther Kaunda said the move comes after noticing low malaria incidences in districts that benefited from the 2021 exercise.

"As you are aware, during the 2021 countrywide distribution five districts were left out because of shortage of mosquito nets and we noted that these districts are registering high cases of malaria than those that received. So we sought resources from Global Fund to procure more nets to ensure universal coverage throughout the country," she said.

Kaunda however said that only those that registered during the 2021 exercise are eligible to receive and that only 83 percent of the registered population will receive as they did not procure enough nets for the remaining targeted population.

"Distribution will be done on a first come first serve basis and one mosquito net will cover two people per household. For large sized families, a maximum of three nets will be given and not four like in the past," she added.

She therefore urged authorities in the district to mobilise communities and raise awareness on the importance of sleeping in mosquito nets, saying because of low risk perception many people use them as fences for their gardens or for fishing.

Commenting on the matter, Dedza District Hospital Malaria Coordinator Lawrence Ruben welcomed the development, saying malaria is one of the leading causes of death among pregnant women and under-five children in the district.

"Our health centers are always congested with malaria patients, so the coming in of this exercise will remove such pressure from our health centers. We just need to encourage people to use the nets for their intended purpose," said Rubeni.

On his part, Dedza District Hospital Environmental Health Officer Honoratus Kadyampakeni urged all stakeholders taking part in the distribution exercise to play their roles for smooth implementation of the activity.

The distribution exercise is expected to commence on September 4, and will run until September 8, 2023. About 460, 244 mosquito nets will be distributed in Dedza district.