One of the most
effective ways of preventing malaria is the use of insecticide-treated bed
nets. And while most of the bed nets
used in Africa are distributed for free, Africa has developed a thriving
business selling them to the public.
It's all due to a
U.S.-funded initiative that began 10 years ago.
For a long time
now, most of the bed nets used in Africa have been manufactured in Asia. But the demand has been so great that
companies in at least four African countries -- Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria and
Uganda – have opened manufacturing plants.
The idea for a commercial
bed net industry in Africa began with the $67 million NetMark project. For the last decade, it's been run by the
non-profit Academy for Educational Development, or A.E.D.
A different approach
Juan Manuel Urrutia,
Johannesburg-based deputy director of NetMark, says, "What is so special about
this project is that this was a development project, not an aid project"
The U.S. Agency for
International Development was behind it.
"The U.S. government,
through USAID, provided the funding to develop a program to create a
public-private partnership in malaria prevention by developing retail markets
in selected African countries for insecticide-treated nets," he says.
Malaria, a disease
transmitted by mosquitoes, kills about one million people every year. Most of them are in Africa and many of them
are children. However, insecticide-treated
bed nets are literally life savers.
While most of the
nets are being made in Asia, African companies are coming on strong.
"After 10 years,
there are six manufacturers, 40 distributors, reaching over 6,000 retail
outlets in seven countries in Africa. In
2008 the project sold 20 million treated bed nets. The projection for 2009 is that the program
may sell 21 million nets this year," he says.
Why buy one?
Yet if most of the
malaria-fighting bed nets are distributed at no cost, why would the public pay
anywhere from four to seven dollars to buy one?
Urrutia says first, they're needed, and second, they're actually cheap
in the long run.
"Bed nets are
expensive…. The environmental and labor
safety issues make it an expensive good to manufacture. Yes, you could think that $7.00 for a bed net
is expensive. But if…it could last up to
four to five years, you're talking about $1.50 for 100 percent protection per
year," he says.
Urrutia says they're
much more effective than aerosol sprays, which can cost up to $20 per
year. He acknowledges, however, that
some people cannot afford the nets, so there will always be a need for free
distribute vouchers with a subsidy that could be from 50 to 80 percent of the
cost of the net. So, in Senegal and
Ghana, for example, in 2009 close to 350,000 families were able to get a net
for $1.00 with a $6.00 subsidy," he says.
The biggest markets
for bed nets are Nigeria and Ethiopia, due to the size of their populations.
Pays for itself
Urrutia says the
NetMark project has been so successful, it can sustain itself, even if no more
donor funding is available.
"It's the United
States Agency for International Development helping developing countries help
themselves," he says.
Coordinator Admiral Timothy Ziemer says the NetMark project has helped build a
"culture" of bed net use in Africa.