Editor,

I have just read an article in which a government official, Dr Karema, was reacting to the 2010 WHO Malaria Report 2010.

While I have not seen this report, I was far from satisfied (not to say disappointed) by the reaction of Dr Karema.

In that interview, Dr Karema mentions the big quantity (around 3 million) of mosquito nets distributed in 2010 but fails to confirm whether this whole quantity ever reached the beneficiaries. 

It would have been more interesting to know, from her reaction, how many households do have nets, thus explaining the "40% decrease” in malaria prevalence instead of talking in terms of  the numbers of nets distributed.

Many will agree with me that there is not such a big number of nets in the households.

A simple and striking example is the case of Kigali whereby , recently, we had local leaders coming in our households to make a needs assessment regarding mosquito nets.

Since then, a massive distribution has been announced but so far we have not received the nets.

Therefore, a legitimate question needs to be asked: where did these nets go? When one goes around the country, don’t you find a big quantity of them lying in health facilities (Health centers, district hospitals)?

Are these contributing to this "decrease” Dr Karema is talking about? Definitely not. A thorough audit should be conducted to assess the whole supply chain of these nets.

Happy New Year 2011

James Tumusiime
Kimironko, Kigali
jamestumusiime75@yahoo.com