Malaria Control

Malaria is a serious barrier to the health, productivity, and development of a large and increasing proportion of the world’s population. This is especially the case in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and among women and children. By 2000, ninety percent of the world’s malaria cases were occurring in SSA, where it was the leading cause of mortality and morbidity.

The overwhelming burden of malaria on human health in SSA, combined with increasing malaria drug resistance, has increased the need for effective preventive measures. Recent research trials have demonstrated that insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are a simple, low-cost, and appropriate technology that has enormous potential to prevent malaria and decrease childhood mortality and morbidity from the disease.

As a result, ITNs have been adopted as a key malaria control strategy in all SSA countries. An increasing number of organizations, governments, and donors are seeking cost-effective and sustainable strategies for implementing ITN interventions.

HealthBridge works in partnership with governments, UN agencies, NGOs, universities, hospitals and health-care providers and private partners to develop and implement appropriate and effective malaria control strategies.

Our areas of focus include:

• Conducting research on insecticide-treated nets to identify social, economic, and environmental constraints that impact ITN effectiveness;
• Conducting research on ways to integrate malaria control, agriculture, and nutrition interventions to improve the health of resource-poor households, particularly those affected by AIDS;
• Promoting the use of insecticide-treated nets to protect Canadian travelers from malaria and to raise awareness of the global burden of the disease.