Press Releases
The Netherlands and United States Team Up to Support Tanzania's National Malaria Control Programme
December 5, 2007
In an effort to further harmonize donor support to Tanzania, the governments of the Netherlands and the United States have teamed up to provide insecticide support to the National Malaria Control Programme’s Long Lasting Insecticide Nets in Tanzania Project.
On 30th November, in Dar es Salaam, K. Cha. Van Kesteren, the Ambassador of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Pamela A. White, USAID Mission Director signed an agreement to provide the first $1,412,138 of an expected $6,988,189 to support the National Malaria Control Programme of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. These funds, provided by the Netherlands Minister for Development Cooperation will be used to procure insecticide to treat bed nets manufactured in Tanzania through USAID's Cooperative Agreement with Population Services International (PSI).
Under the outstanding leadership of the National Malaria Control Program, Tanzania has developed an innovative campaign for ridding Tanzania of malaria which is beginning to show results. The Tanzania National Voucher Scheme, offering insecticide treated bed nets at discounted prices through a voucher program, has been very successful; there are now 6,200 retail outlets which have distributed 2.6 million insecticide treated bed nets. Tanzania also has a vibrant commercial market for insecticide treated bed nets, with over 2.3 million bed nets sold commercially from January to September 2007, leading African efforts toward sustainability. Other major donor contributors to this program are: the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the World Bank, and the Swiss, Japanese and Italian Governments.
Tanzania was chosen as one of three countries as the first recipients of funds under the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) funding. To date, Tanzania has received $42.5 million (over 50 billion Tanzanian Shillings) from PMI to fight malaria on Zanzibar and the mainland. On Zanzibar, malaria has been controlled and malaria incidence on the mainland is going down.
Just recently, PSI began implementing a $6,950,000 project with PMI funds which will help to contribute to significant reductions in infant, children under five and maternal mortality rates in Tanzania by ensuring the supply of insecticide to Tanzanian bed net manufacturers. The Netherlands’ money will double the PMI impact. The regular use of treated nets reduces severe malaria by 45%, premature births by 42% and all cause child mortality by 17-63%.
The economic impact of malaria on the Tanzanian economy is enormous. The cost to Tanzania is approximately $350 million per year, which is equivalent to 3.5% of the GDP. Research shows that families with malaria harvest 40% less crops than those who are not suffering from malaria or its after effects.
Currently, insecticide kits are supplied to the four Tanzanian bed net manufacturers for bundling with their bed nets. However, the aim of the project is to further increase the health impact and long term sustainability of the intervention by assisting the Tanzanian net manufacturers to introduce a factory pre-treatment technology so that all nets leaving their factories will already be treated with a long lasting insecticide and will not need subsequent pretreatment. The nets are sold in the commercial market where they can be bought by pregnant women and infants eligible for a highly reduced price through the National Voucher Programme “Hati Punguzo”. This programme has been lauded as an outstanding example of a public private partnership.
It is the right of every Tanzanian to sleep under a treated net. The money donated to the National Malaria Program by the Netherlands will help to make this a reality.