SUPPLY ANNUAL REPORT 2008 Local Delivery Global ... - Unicef

A barrier against malaria - long lasting
insecticidal nets
Each day 3000 children die of malaria, and in Africa,
this mosquito-borne disease is the number one killer of
children under five.
Sleeping under Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINS),
which are ingeniously impregnated with insecticide and
last up to six years, has proven one of the most effective
preventions against malaria. So effective are they
in assisting child survival that the global community
aims to achieve universal bednet coverage in endemic
countries by the end of 2010.
Supply is playing an important role in the realisation
of this goal, helping scale up production in an efficient
way and procuring and delivering more than 19 million
nets in 2008, one-third of the world’s total, to 48
countries. In 2009, it is forecast that the number will
increase to 35 million - compared to only100,000 in
2000.
The global availability of LLINs on this scale is completely
new. Until 2007, only two products were prequalified
with WHO, and delivery lead-times were long.
Through improved forecasting, concerted market shaping
activities by UNICEF Supply and partners, including
substantial manufacturer consultation, these lead-times
have been reduced and new manufacturers have entered
the market. The number of WHO Pesticide Evaluation
Scheme (WHOPES) recommended LLINs grew to
five in 2008, and at least one more new manufacturer
is expected to enter the market in 2009.
A woman tends to her severely malnourished daughter at
the therapeutic feeding centre at the UNICEF-supported Wajir
District Hospital in the north east of Kenya during the worst
drought in the Horn of Africa for a decade.
Ensuring the global availability of LLINs is just part of
Supply’s efforts in the fight against malaria. In 2008,
our warehouse and logistics team worked alongside
Programme colleagues, partners and ministries
of health in a number of countries, including in the
Karamoja region of Northern Uganda, as part of Child
Health Days. Due to their bulk and weight bednets
pose a number of logistical challenges. Large warehouses
and trucks are needed, and a lot of logistics
coordination is necessary. In Uganda the process
involved ensuring nets arrived at the port of entry in
time for the campaign, then they were transported to
UNICEF’s main warehouse, from which they would be
transported to regional warehouses, and then to health
clinics for final distribution.
18 SUPPLY ANNUAL REPORT 2008