(9 November 2009) The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has released US$336 million to Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria to purchase more than 50 million long-lasting insecticidal nets in the next few months.

The move amounts to a 2/3 increase of the number of bed nets in Africa.

According to a statement from the Global Fund office: “The funds are expected to pay for 26 million long-lasting insecticidal nets in Nigeria, 11 million in Ethiopia, 7.3 million in Uganda, 4.8 million in Tanzania and 1 million in Kenya.

This will help these countries move towards universal coverage targets of 80% coverage of long-lasting insecticidal nets by 2010.”   

“These bed nets will help prevent millions of cases of malaria over the next few months alone,” said Professor Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund.

“Malaria was a neglected disease when the Global Fund started but we are now at a point where reaching global targets for malaria is no longer fanciful but something that can actually be achieved,” he said.   

Each day approximately 2,200 Africans die from malaria, 85 percent are children under 5 years of age. Malaria has been estimated to cost Africa more than US$12 billion every year in lost GDP, even though it could be controlled for a fraction of that sum.

In countries that have conducted mass distribution of bed nets containing insecticides, deaths from malaria have dropped dramatically in a short period of time.    

The statement said the Global Fund supported programmes have distributed 88 million insecticide treated bed nets worldwide. 68.4 million of these bed nets were distributed in Africa – the continent that contains about 90% of malaria deaths. (AFRICANEWS)