Geneva – It has come to the attention of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria that a portion of anti-malaria bed nets distributed in Burkina Faso in 2010 were not treated with insecticide.
Approximately 2 million bed nets are believed to be untreated, and they were part of a mass distribution of 6.45 million bed nets supported by the Global Fund in 2010.
Since discovering the extent of the problem, the Global Fund has taken action to 1) Suspend distribution of any remaining bed nets from the mass distribution campaign that are still in storage in Burkina Faso; 2) Accelerate plans to procure and distribute replacement nets with the goal of replacing all untreated bed nets; 3) Intensify quality testing of bed nets before distribution.
The bed nets, while untreated, still give protection by preventing mosquitos from coming into contact with humans sleeping under them at night time.
However, untreated bed nets are not as effective at malaria prevention as insecticide-treated nets, which not only give personal protection but are also effective at slowing down the intensity of transmission of malaria in a targeted area because they kill the mosquitoes that touch them.