Sierra Leone News: Don’t use bed nets as garden fences

Politics

In Kukuna, mosquito nets are being used to fence vegetable farms. One in every 5 households misuses the nets meant to prevent malaria. Wrong use of mosquito nets needs to be discouraged said Community Health Officer (CHO) Musa Bangura. He encouraged residents of Braimaia Chiefdom, Kambia District, to use bed nets for their intended purposes. “I have raised this issue in our Chiefdom meetings warning them that government is against the misuse of the nets. If you use the nets for fishing and fencing farm produce, that might be punishable in the near future,” he said. Last June, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) with UNICEF, embarked on a nationwide campaign with the distribution of 4.3 million insecticide treated bed nets to help protect against malaria, which remains one of the country’s most deadly diseases. The CHO confirmed that they distributed bed nets to every household. They are also making nets available for pregnant women who visit the facility for their first Ante-Natal Care (ANC) visit and after delivery when the baby is brought in for the first BCG vaccine. “All these interventions is to help with the fight against malaria, but we still have cases. So we are thinking of an appropriate way to engage these communities for the effective use of the bed nets. said Bangura. Integrated Diseases Surveillance and Response (IDSR) Weekly Epidemiological report from 2017 indicated that district incidence of confirmed malaria cases in Kambia is 23,259 per 100,000 population. The District also recorded 1,404 and 1,288 cases in the last two weeks in December 2017 respectively. Abdul Salaam Sillah, who is the Deputy Regent Chief, said the insecticides used on nets to keep away mosquitoes were harmful to the ecosystem and should not be used on farm produce that are meant for consumption or in water as this endangers the life of aquatic animals. He said as leaders in the Chiefdom they will meet to institute by-laws and they will embark on destroying the said fences. “The nets must not be used as garden protection or for fishing. We will ensure that we have a door-to-door campaign to ensure that the misuse of these nets is stopped forthwith,” said Chief Sillah. Some residents said that they only use the old nets to protect vegetables and tree seedlings from birds. “Many of us cannot afford to buy chain links or fences for our farms,” said farmer, Abdul Conteh. Conteh added that the old nets were worn out and the chemicals they were treated with to repel mosquitoes had waned, so that is why they are being used at their farms. Some farmers have opted to reuse them as chicken pens, he said. With others refusing to use the nets because they believe it is too hot to sleep underneath and that God will protect them from malaria. The World Health Organization estimates that every year, malaria kills over 5,000 children under-5 years of age in the country. It also contributes to life-threatening complications among pregnant women. For these reasons, efforts to end maternal and child mortality will depend on winning the battle against malaria, and treated bed nets are undoubtedly one of the most effective tools for prevention. ZIJ/6/2/18 By Zainab Iyamide Joaque Wednesday February 07, 2018.

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