The Malaria Atlas Project has researched the availability of insecticide-treated nets in the context of people living where there are high levels of malaria and cannot afford to buy nets. Our work shows that by 2007 almost 90 million African children living in areas where malaria is common were still unprotected by nets. We provide geographical information to support decision-makers who need to select locations where focussed efforts to improve net distribution should have a substantial effect.
Availability of insecticide-treated bednet (ITN) data for two study periods, delivery methods, poverty mapping, and risk of malaria
National boundaries are shown in black and first-level administrative boundaries are shown in white.
(A) First-level administrative units used to define ITN use between 2000 and 2007. Countries shown in grey are those where no baseline or matched follow-up data were available or that were not at risk of Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
(B) Main delivery methods adopted by countries after 2000 and before follow-up national surveys. Light green is cost recovery through public sector or subsidised private or public sector; middle green is highly subsidised routine distribution through public sector; and dark green is free mass campaigns, either localised or nationally, or routine free distribution through public sector.
(C) Poverty map showing the least poor quintile (light blue), the two moderately poor quintiles (middle blue), and the two poorest quintiles (dark blue), based on the mean brightness of night-time lights in the first-level administration unit.
(D) Map of malaria showing areas of no malaria risk (white), unstable (light pink) and stable (dark pink) transmission.
Insecticide-treated bednet (ITN) coverage among children under the age of 5 years
reported in (A) 1999–2003 (baseline), (B) 2004–07 (follow-up), and (C) projected to July 2007 (target period)
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