Stopping death with a net

It's simple, really: Use an insecticide-infused bed net to keep deadly mosquitoes from biting. The hard part? Paying for them, distributing them and teaching people to use them properly.

By Katie Lewis, The Ottawa Citizen

"Everyone who needs a net should have a net," says Glen Pearson, Liberal MP for London North Centre and an ambassador for Spread the Net.

For Pearson, the issue is personal. In 1970 he was doing aid work in Bangladesh when he contracted P. Vivax, a form of malaria that can recur often -- in his case, as many as three or four times a year.

His seven-year-old daughter Abuk, whom he and his wife, Jane Roy, adopted five years ago from Sudan, almost died of the disease.

Abuk's twin sister Achen and eight-year-old brother, Alter, whom the couple also adopted more recently, are still stuck in Nairobi, trying to get over their malaria, before coming to Canada.

Because Spread the Net is partnered with UNICEF, which in turn is partnered with local governments, the cycle from donation to net delivery can be long.

Take Rwanda, for example. Most of the donations come from the general public, who give $10 for a net on the Spread the Net website. That money is then given to UNICEF. From there, the money is given to the Rwandan government, according to Dr. Dennis Muhoza, a physician who works with UNICEF's malaria control program.

"The government then gives the money to the programs," says Dr. Muhoza at his office in Kigali. When a request is made to meet a family who has received a net he says he doesn't have the specific information about where the nets are going.

Pearson says he understands people's concern about the many channels the money has to go through.

"It's not ideal," he says. "But we have to work with governments to get the nets on the ground."

Lefebvre says she prefers the approach of community-based organizations that work with local groups.

"The corruption issue in Africa is well-known," she says. "That's why we bypass it completely."

Although nets are important in lowering malaria rates, other options also need to be used, says Dr. Sarah Staedke, a malaria researcher from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

"There is no quick fix to malaria," says Dr. Staedke. "You need both treatment and prevention."

Amir Attaran, a population health expert at the University of Ottawa, agrees.

"There are really three ways of dealing with malaria. Medicine, bed nets and insecticides," says Attaran. "Those are really the only three tools for which we have a good record and evidence of success. We need all three and anything less than that means we're not serious about the job."

Lefebvre says it's all about perspective in understanding just how affordable and effective these nets are.

"I don't know of any other kind of value like that for $5.

"That's the amount many Canadians would spend on a latte every day," she says. "They could save not just one life, but many more and for so long."

It's a vicious circle that allows malaria to wreak such havoc in parts of Africa. In fact, the mosquito that transmits malaria in sub-Saharan Africa also lives in Ontario.

The difference is that, here, we have no base group of infected people, so the mosquito doesn't have access to the parasite that spreads the disease. And although malaria does occur here and the in the U.S. every year, the North American health system keeps it in check. It also helps that our climate is cold, rather than the hot, humid conditions common in East Africa that are perfect for speeding up malaria's life cycle.