Emergency Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN) Distribution and Retreatment, Mozambique

Mosquito net use in Mozambique has historically been very low; knowledge of insecticide treatment of nets was virtually non-existent prior to 2000. Previous malaria KAP (knowledge, attitude and behaviour pattern) surveys indicate that in rural areas, knowledge of the role of mosquitoes in malaria transmission was less than 30%. Pregnant women were not recognised as an at-risk group.

Following the extensive flooding that affected southern Mozambique during February 2000, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNICEF and several NGO partners (Save the Children USA (SCF-USA), World Vision International (WVI), The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Ajuda de Desenvolvimento de Povo para Povo, or Development Assistance from People to People (ADPP), Oxfam, Concern, Merlin, and World Relief), distributed more than 200,000 ITNs (insecticide-treated nets) free of charge to flood-affected families. These families lived in IDP (internally-displaced persons) camps in the Manhiça district and re-settlement camps in the Gaza province. Community-based participatory sessions and live theatre-based education supported the ITN distribution. Assessments were then conducted to determine the impact of this programme, with a focus on comparing the effectiveness of different kinds of approaches.

This material describes the methodology and results of this project. It contains five sections: an introduction, a discussion of methodology, results (in the form of a table and bullet-point list), conclusions, and "the future".