According to the Ugandan Ministry of Health, between 70,000 and 100,000 people die every year from malaria, and, on average, people suffer from malaria six times each year.

Schoolchildren dance during the celebration of the kickoff of the Global Fund LLIN campaign, on World Malaria Day 2010. Source USAID/Uganda

In Uganda, malaria is the leading cause of illness and death. According to the Ugandan Ministry of Health, between 70,000 and 100,000 people die every year from malaria, and, on average, people suffer from malaria six times each year.

Studies have shown that sleeping under a long-lasting insecticide treated net (LLIN) is one of the most effective ways to prevent malaria, since the mosquitoes that cause malaria predominantly bite during the night. Uganda’s Global Fund Round 7 grant will provide 17 million ITNs for universal coverage of nets – or one net for every two people – so that by the end of the campaign, everyone in a family can sleep under a net. The high number of nets being used may reduce the overall transmission of malaria.

In Ntwetwe, Kiboga District, Uganda, a mother stands in front of the blue LLIN she received during the net campaign. Source Elizabeth Thompson/PMI

The distribution of the first round of 7 million ITNs targets those most vulnerable to malaria: children under the age of five and pregnant women. The campaign was kicked off with great fanfare in Kampala on April 25, World Malaria Day. In the first phase of the campaign, PMI supported the distribution of more than 1.4 million ITNs, procured through the Global Fund grant, in Uganda’s central region.