Halfway There: Team Tana Netting Against Malaria Distributes Nets in Western Kenya

To celebrate reaching the halfway point on their overland journey from Amsterdam to Cape Town, Team Tana Netting Against Malaria today visited a malaria control project in Western Kenya’s Shibinga Region. The project, run by Pioneer Group Bulechia, is supported by Malaria No More! Netherlands, and seeks to bring the Kenyan government’s free net distribution program from the district health center level to individual villages, many of which are a half day’s walk away from the nearest clinic. Team Tana Netting Against Malaria provided 100 DawaPlus® 2.0 long-lasting insecticide-treated nets to support the project’s efforts.

Team Tana Netting and other members of the Oranje Trophy rally undertook the more than 400 kilometer long journey from Nairobi to the regional capital of Kakamega over two days. Along the way, the caravan stopped several times to learn more about the malaria problem in various regions of Kenya, discuss preventative measures available and hand out DawaPlus® 2.0 nets to onlookers.

Once in Kakamega, the group were met by the Pioneer Group Bulechia, who guided them the last 15 kilometers along unsealed roads to the project site. There, more than 200 project beneficiaries, Ministry of Health officials, Village Elders and the District Chief, who organized a warm welcoming ceremony to greet the group.

The Pioneer Group Bulechia seeks to complement the efforts of the Kenyan Ministry of Health, which already offers free mosquito nets to pregnant women and children under the age of five in public health facilities. Because this is not (yet) the case in Shibinga Region the Pioneer Group Bulechia felt it was necessary to bring the nets closer to beneficiaries. Working in cooperation with Malaria No More, the Ministry of Health and district officials, the Group launched a local net distribution to all households, which was officially kicked off today.

“The Kenyan Ministry of Public Health already does an excellent job of providing anti-malarial nets to pregnant women and children under the age of five at the health center level,” said Enos Matangwe, the project’s coordinator. “However, because the government's policy has not (yet) been implemented in our region and it is too expensive for our people to travel to the nearest town to buy a net, we felt it was important to make these life-saving solutions available at our village level.”

During the ceremony, Laura Bos, one of the drivers of the Team Tana Netting Against Malaria vehicle, offered a demonstration on how to use and care for bed nets, stressing the importance of patching small holes as they happen.

“Visiting this project was a truly amazing experience for us,” said Laura. “Getting here was an eight hour detour for our group, but it was totally worth it to see these mosquito nets being distributed and getting to share how to use them with the people who need them most.

Tana Netting, the sponsor of Team Tana Netting Against Malaria provided 100 DawaPlus® 2.0 long-lasting insecticide treated nets to the project, on behalf of Malaria No More! Netherlands. “Tana Netting is pleased to continue our ongoing partnership with Malaria No More! Netherlands by supporting this project in Western Kenya,” said Chris Messer, Global Marketing & Regulatory Affairs Manager, Tana Netting. “We are pleased with the good work Malaria No More has done in terms of advocacy, fundraising and project support and look forward to working with them in the future.”

Following Team Tana Netting Against Malaria’s visit to Kakamega, the group rejoined the other 21 cars in Kericho, Kenya, to prepare for the long drive into Tanzania. 

For more information about Tana Netting, visit www.tananetting.com

For more information about the Oranje Trophy, visit www.oranjetrophy.nl