A new emergency malaria control programme including bed net distribution and insecticide spraying is due to begin shortly in Kenema District in eastern Sierra Leone, MERLIN Programme Coordinator Glyn Taylor told IRIN on Thursday.
"The programme will start in about two weeks and will mainly target children between the ages of 0-5 years and pregnant and lactating mothers," the Medical Emergency Relief International (MERLIN) coordinator said.
The first phase will last between 3-4 months and will include spraying the temporary shelters for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Kenema town alongside a health education programme. Thousands of bed nets will then be distributed to the local population at a nominal cost. A second phase aims
to take the programme beyond the town into regional health centres, Taylor said.
Partners in the programme, which aims to target between 20,000 and 30,000 people, include WHO and the Ministry of Health, MERLIN said.
MERLIN provides nutritional feeding to over 200 severely malnourished and some 1,000 moderately malnourished children in Kenema District. It is re-establishing and restocking one hospital and 18 health centres with drugs and equipment to provide care and health education to mothers and young children in Kenema and Bo Districts.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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