Kilifi receives 1 million free mosquito nets in Kemsa initiative

Kilifi County on Tuesday started the distribution of over one million mosquito nets under the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP)

The program is funded by the Global Fund. It aims to distribute treated nets to all 22 counties prone to malaria.

Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) CEO Andrew Mulwa and Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro flagged off 1,054,000 treated mosquito nets for distribution in the seven Kilifi sub-counties.

According to KEMSA, Kilifi County has 679 posts.

It is classified as one of the malaria endemic areas that need mosquito nets for the prevention of malaria.

Mung'aro acknowledged the initiative, thanking KEMSA for the last-mile distribution initiative.

"It makes it easier for us to hand the nets over to the communities," Mung'aro said.

The program aims to distribute 10.9 million nets across 22 counties to mitigate the impact of malaria.

According to KEMSA, the last-mile distribution of mosquito nets started in January 2024.

So far, the authority has completed distribution in 10 counties.

These include Kisii, Nyamira, Kisumu, Siaya, Migori, Tana River, Lamu, Taita Taveta, Kwale and Mombasa counties.

Currently, distribution is ongoing in Kilifi and Busia counties.

The remaining counties are Turkana, West Pokot, Narok, Trans Nzoia, Baringo and Kirinyaga counties.

During distribution, KEMSA faces challenges including flooding, poor terrain, accessibility to some distribution posts due to poor road network (narrow roads) and insecurity.

Speaking after receiving the nets, Zulfe Nyanzua Yawa, a village elder, thanked the government for the distribution initiative.

She said they will educate the locals on how to use them, urging KEMSA to distribute the nets every year.

"We would like them to come and distribute again in one year. Right now, malaria is our biggest problem. Because of the lack of nets, our children, below five years are the most affected,"  she said.

Yawa said they last received nets some five years ago, promising that they will help distribute them from one house to another and also during Barazas.

She added that sometimes the locals lack medicines in the local hospitals.

"During the rainy season, like April, when the grass grows, malaria cases are very high because of mosquitoes. We suffer a lot," she said.