More insecticide-treated malaria nets and improved delivery efficiency needed to achieve universal coverage

A new study led by the University of Oxford suggests that more insecticide-treated malaria nets (ITNs) and improved efficiency in net delivery are needed to achieve universal coverage and make serious headway on the path to the elimination of the disease. Currently, malaria net coverage remains well below the 100% universal coverage target. Estimates for the number of nets needed to achieve 100% coverage are also too low, say the researchers, because of diminishing returns caused by inefficiencies in net delivery. The study is published in the journal eLife . 'Insecticide-treated nets, which comprise conventional and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), are the single most widely used intervention for malaria control in Africa, but coverage remains inadequate,' says lead author Dr Samir Bhatt of the Malaria Atlas Project in Oxford's Department of Zoology. 'Sub-Saharan African countries at risk of malaria have calculated that 920 million ITNs would be needed across the continent to achieve national coverage targets between 2014 and 2017, but this figure does not take system inefficiencies into account.' The team has created a mathematical model describing the use and distribution of nets across Africa since 2000. By gathering data on ITN distribution, delivery and coverage, they have provided new insights into two key inefficiencies, namely net loss and over-allocation.