Sierra Leone 2006 Bed-Net Campaign: Facts and Figures

Malaria is Africa's leading cause of under-five mortality (20%).
One child dies every 30 seconds, equivalent to seven Boeing 747 airplanes crashing every day.
Malaria is a global crisis, threatening more than 40% of the world’s population, in over half the world’s countries.
There are at least 300 million acute cases of malaria each year around the world, resulting in over one million preventable deaths.
Approximately 3,000 people die from malaria each day - 90% of these deaths occur in Africa and are mostly in young children.
In Sierra Leone, malaria accounts for 40% of public health expenditures, 30-50% of inpatient admissions, and up to 50% of outpatient visits.
With a population of 5.1 million, Sierra Leone is one of the world’s most impoverished countries.
The United Nation’s Human development index lists Sierra Leone as the world’s second most deprived country, ahead of Niger.
Life expectancy in Sierra Leone is 40.8 years, compared to 80 years in Canada.

The CRCS Preventing Malaria in Africa campaigns play a vital role in achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015. For more information, please see http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/.
Thanks to CIDA’s generous contributions to the Preventing Malaria in Africa campaigns, Canadian Red Cross is recognized as leader in malaria prevention.
The Sierra Leone initiative is the sixth and largest bed-net campaign.
To date,over 1.7 million bed-nets have been delivered by CRCS in Africa: Zambia in 2003, 75,000 ITNs*; Togo in 2004, 735,000 LLINs*; Zambia in 2005, 15,500 LLINs, Niger in 2005, 440,000 LLINs; Mozambique in 2006, 400,000 LLINs; Malawi in 2006, 44,000 LLINs.
To date, Preventing Malaria in Africa bed-net campaigns have potentially saved the lives of over 69,000 children in Africa.
The Sierra Leone campaign is similar to the December 2004 Togo campaign, where Canadian Red Cross distributed 735,000 LLINs over a week-long measles and polio initiative. The nets were sufficient for every household with children under five in Togo. For more information on Togo, see: http://www.ifrc.org/docs/news/04/04121401/
The Sierra Leone campaign also follows a second comparable campaign in Mozambique, where Red Cross volunteers distributed 400,000 LLINs throughout central Mozambique. More information on the Mozambique campaign»

*ITN (Insecticide-Treated Nets)

*LLIN (Long-Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets)

The Sierra Leone initiative is the sixth and largest bed-net campaign of the Canadian Red Cross.
The campaign is part of a four step integrated child-survival program, consisting of vaccinating children against measles, providing Vitamin A supplements, providing deworming treatments, and finally, providing free bed nets (LLINs), which effectively prevent malaria.
875,000 LLINs will be delivered between November 20-26, 2006, to all Sierra Leonean children under five years of age.
This campaign is expected to save the lives of 5,300 vulnerable children, in the first year alone.
Bed-nets will be handed-out through 900 county-wide distribution points, staffed by health-care professionals, trained villagers and local volunteers.
About 4,000 Sierra Leone Red Cross volunteers will reach families in even the most remote communities. Campaign volunteers will encourage attendance at distribution points, explain the facts about malaria, and demonstrate correct bed-net hanging practices.

The Sierra Leone Red Cross will undertake ‘Hang-Up’ activities immediatley following distribution, to assure nets are properly hung.
The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Sierra Leone will support bed net ‘Keep-Up’ activities, commencing January 2007, and continuing for a three-year period. This will ensure that bed-nets are still being used properly - and by the intended recipients.
The impact of the Sierra Leone campaign will be measured by way of household surveying; the results are expected in August 2007.
Long-lasting insecticide-treated (LLINs) mosquito nets are effective for up to four years or 20 washes.

Largely, CIDA which has kindly contributed $6.5 million to the Sierra Leone campaign.
In total, CIDA has contributed over $26 million to the Canadian Red Cross Preventing Malaria in Africa campaign.
Individual Canadians and community groups who have raised funds for the Sierra Leone malaria campaign over the past year.

The Canadian and Sierra Leonean Red Cross, as well as the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation are partners of the Preventing Malaria in Africa campaign.
The project is also supported by two major networks: the Measles Partnership, and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership which consist of participation from WHO, UNICEF, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and other NGOs/organisations mandated to tackle Africa’s health issues.

For more information on malaria, please visit:

* Source for data - 2005 World Malaria Report