UNICEF supplies 150,000 mosquito nets in Bangui as rainy season approaches | WPN World People News

Ahead of the rainy season due to start next month in the Central African Republic (CAR), UNICEF is providing 150,000 mosquito bed nets for 75,000 people displaced in the capital, who have lost their homes because of the conflict.

The rainy season brings the threat of malaria, which can be deadly, especially to vulnerable populations.

“Heavy rains have already started and displacement sites are the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes," said UNICEF CAR Representative Souleymane Diabaté. "Without any protection against mosquitoes, displaced children are at even higher risk of attacks of malaria.”

UNICEF partnered with the National Red Cross to carry out the distribution of nets, while the Ministry of Health oversaw campaign activities. By the end of the campaign, a total of 75,000 families will have received two mosquito bed nets along with educational material on malaria, the importance of using nets, and how to hang and maintain them. More than 120,000 mosquito bed nets have already been distributed in major displacement sites in the capital since mid-February.

“These nets will save lives,” Diabaté said. “Malaria is one of the biggest causes of child deaths here. Now, violence prevents families from going to the health facility for treatment, heath staff have fled, and facilities have been looted. What are the chances children can receive adequate treatment on time?”

Figures from a group of NGOs and UN organisations working in health in CAR say since the beginning of December, malaria has been the cause of 40 per cent of illness for children under-five in the 40 major displacement camps in Bangui.

“My son had a difficult start to life,” said Ngombe, a displaced mother whose baby had malaria. “We had to stay in the hospital for a whole week in order for him to get better. But now he’s fine and the new net will hopefully protect him from now on.” Ngombe fled her home when violence erupted in Bangui last December.

Before the crisis, only 36 per cent of children in CAR slept under a mosquito net. The situation has worsened as displacement forced many people to leave their belongings behind.

Children in displacement sites are particularly at risk of falling ill as they are living in make-shift dwellings that offer few, if any, barriers against mosquitoes. Sleeping under a mosquito net reduces malaria deaths by 20 per cent.

Source: United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund