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For friends and family of Neil and Chris!
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TAMTAM's Action |
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TAMTAM’s strategy against malaria is to provide free long-lasting
insecticide treated bed nets to pregnant women in
Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLITNs) have been developed in response to low re-treatment rates of conventional insecticide-treated mosquito nets, especially in Africa . An LLITN is a ready-to-use pre-treated mosquito net, which requires no further treatment during its expected life span (average 4 to 5 years). Most National Malaria Control Programs, UN agencies and NGOs now regard LLITNs as the best option for the future. UNICEF and other Roll Back Malaria Initiative (RBM) partners have recently called for an Expression of Interest from the private sector and 30 companies have responded. Six long lasting treatment processes are currently under development. One of these, PermaNet, marketed by Vestergaard-Frandsen, has been approved by WHOPES (the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme). Various field studies have proven its long-term efficacy against mosquitoes. A circular double size PermaNet costs US$ 7 (delivery cost included). TAMTAM is providing a free PermaNet to each pregnant woman coming for prenatal care at maternal and child health clinics in Busia, Butere/Mumias and Bungoma districts in Western Kenya (Where?) . Volunteers working with TAMTAM deliver nets to health centers every fortnight, and trained nurses from the Ministry of Health hand in the nets to pregnant women during the prenatal care visit. A recent study published by Guyatt et al. in the Tropical Medicine and International Health Journal in May 2002 has shown that delivery of bed-nets through prenatal clinics is a cheap, simple and equitable approach to delivery in East Africa. TAMTAM works in partnership with the Division of Malaria Control in the Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Maternal and Child Health clinics and has partnerships with the other NGOs present at the provincial and district level.
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