Global Communities Honduras Distributes More Than 42,000 Mosquito Nets to Prevent Malaria

This article first appeared on Proceso Digital
Tegucigalpa, Honduras – A total of 42,885 mosquito nets coated with long-lasting insecticide are being distributed the region of La Mosquitia in the department of Gracias a Dios to protect the population from being bitten by malaria-transmitting mosquitoes.

The campaign for distribution of the mosquito nets, led by the Secretariat of Health and Global Communities (formerly CHF International), began on October 24 and will conclude on December 15. The program will benefit more than 92,000 people within the framework of the integrated strategy for the elimination of malaria in Honduras in 2016.

Malaria in Honduras is a problem that is concentrated in the northeastern part of the country, with 64 percent of cases in La Mosquitia. Malaria is caused by a parasite called plasmodium, which is transmitted from a sick person through the bite of a female mosquito of the genus Anopheles to a healthy person.

The mosquito net campaign is being carried out at the field level by the local MIMAT women’s organization in the municipalities of Puerto Lempira, Ahuas, Brus laguna, Juan Francisco Bulnes, Villeda Morales and Wampusirpi.
The nets were purchased with resources from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, whose $9.2 million grant is managed and technically supported by Global Communities.

For the implementation of the campaign, 20 leaders of the community-based organization MIMAT were trained from October 19 to 23 by Health Region No. 9, with the technical support of Global Communities personnel.
Additionally, the trained technicians have educated people from the communities in order to multiply its affect. The community members carry out the work of installing the mosquito nets house by house, under the supervision of the regional health authorities.

As part of the Honduran national strategy, Global Communities and the Ministry of Health carry out disease prevention activities in partnership with Miskito community-based organizations involved in health education.
Global Communities has supported national efforts to strengthen the Honduran response to malaria by administering financial resources for the country: approximately $16 million since 2008 as the Global Fund’s Principal Recipient.

Global Communities is a non-profit organization that has had a presence in Honduras for more than 30 consecutive years, implementing a variety of development projects in close collaboration with communities in order to improve their living conditions.