USE OF MOSQUITO NETS

The use of mosquito nets is currently considered the most cost-effective method of malaria prevention in highly endemic areas. Malaria is endemic in Nigeria, with year-round transmission and remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. Nigeria accounted for 32 percent of the global estimate of 655,000 malaria deaths in 2010 (World Health Organization, 2012).

An estimated 97 percent of the country’s approximate population of 160 million residents are at risk of malaria. Children under age 5 and pregnant women are the groups most vulnerable to illness and death from malaria infection in Nigeria.

The use of mosquito nets by vulnerable groups in highly endemic communities is one of the major indicators in the 2014-2020 national malaria strategic plan (FMoH, 2013b). The data below show the extent to which children under age 5 slept under various types of nets