The Ministry of Health will tomorrow Saturday 20th March, 2021 commence the distribution of free insecticide mosquito nets in the districts of; Kayunga, Kibaale, Kyegegwa, Mukono, Buikwe, Kagadi, Luuka, Iganga, Jinja, Mayuge, Buyende and Kaliro.
This is part of the nationwide mosquito net distribution campaign dubbed under the Net campaign which began last year.
A total of 3.8 million mosquito nets will be distributed in the 12 districts in the five-day long exercise which is expected to end on Wednesday March 24th 2021.
The exercise marks the end of the eight-month campaign which has seen the distribution of 27.5 million mosquito nets across the country. To date, a total of 24 million mosquito nets have been distributed in 124 districts.
This campaign is intended to increase access and ownership of nets in communities across the country. It is also expected to create a culture of net use and sustain the gains achieved by the previous campaigns which led to a reduction in the Malaria prevalence.
The Ministry of Health prioritized distribution of mosquito nets as a key intervention for Malaria control and prevention as it has been proven to be one of the most cost effective ways of elimination of Malaria. The Under the Net campaign is the third nationwide net distribution campaign. The first campaign conducted in 2013/ 14, saw the distribution of 21.5 million nets while the second one in 2017 / 2018 saw the distribution of over 26 million nets.
These campaigns have contributed to the reduction of Malaria in the country with the national Malaria prevalence dropping to 9% in 2019 compared to 17% in 2014/2015.