The Ministry of Health has started registration and data validation of people targeted in mass distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets in the Coast.
The distribution aims to reduce malaria prevalence in high-risk counties of Mombasa, Kwale, Taita Taveta, Kilifi, Tana River and Lamu.
National Malaria Control programme official Paul Kiptoo said the ministry is fast-tracking the process of sensitisation, training of healthcare workers and community health promoters at county and subcounty level.
He said the government will use a digitised process for accountability and efficient distribution of the nets across the country.
“This is part of interventions being put in place to bolster the battle against malaria. The distribution of the LLIN nets is also being undertaken in other endemic regions,” he said during a county sensitisation meeting in Voi on Thursday.
Kiptoo said the state targets to distribute 15.3 million nets in 22 counties by April.
In Taita Taveta, the MoH is expected to distribute an estimated 237,452 nets to 92,297 households.
He urged communities and beneficiaries to use the nets correctly and consistently to protect themselves against mosquito bites, the primary mode of malaria transmission.
The distribution campaign will majorly involve community health promoters.
To reduce the malaria prevalence rate, he said, MoH will be distributing mosquito nets every three years, in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.
Kiptoo said continuous distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) has achieved commendable progress in reducing malaria burden over the years.
According to the Kenya Malaria Indicator Survey, Kenya has recorded a substantial reduction in malaria prevalence from eight per cent in 2015 to six per cent in 2020.
However, malaria still imposes a heavy burden on the people, with about 6.7 million clinical cases and 4,000 deaths reported in 2022.
Children under five and pregnant mothers continue to bear the brunt of this preventable disease.