Diversity is the Secret of Kenya's Insecticide-Treated Bednet Program

A study published in a UK medical journal, The Lancet, assessed whether or not the promotion of insecticide nets (ITNs) has led to improvements in child survival in Kenya. The study (“Effect of expanded insecticide-treated ITNs coverage on child survival in rural Kenya: a longitudinal study”) shows that a combined approach of social marketing followed by mass free distribution of ITNs translated into child survival effects that are comparable with other methods to control malaria. Researches found that children who used ITNs were 44% less likely to die from malaria.

Similar studies conducted in The Gambia and Tanzania have also confirmed that ITNs are vital to improvements in child survival rates. The researches evaluated the Kenyan national program for ITNs. Beginning in 2002, this program used social marketing to promote ITNs within the retail sector. In 2004, the program specifically targeted pregnant women and children with heavily subsidized ITNs through Maternal and Child Health clinics. Later in 2006, the program distributed free ITNs to all children under the age of 5.

Researchers found that the diverse strategies, social marketing combined with free distribution, used to deliver ITNs to vulnerable populations were complementary to each other and contributed to overall high coverage rates.

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