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MEDA checks progress on World Malaria Day For MEDA staff in Tanzania, every day is “malaria day.” The rest of the world marks it on April 25, selected by the World Health Organization (WHO) as World Malaria Day. It’s a time to celebrate gains in the battle against malaria and to gauge progress on the Millennium Development Goal of “near‑zero” malaria deaths by 2015. When the world paused on April 25, there was much to cheer about. Advances are being made in the struggle against malaria, the leading killer of African children and pregnant women. Part of MEDA’s role in the battle has been to extend the supply of insecticide treated mosquito nets to far-flung regions and to ensure a steady supply is available to keep coverage rates high as new babies are born and old nets wear out. All this is done through MEDA’s management of the Tanzanian National Voucher Scheme (TNVS), known locally as Hati Punguzo, which issues mosquito net vouchers in health clinics. Pregnant women and mothers of young children who visit the clinics are issued vouchers that, with a small top-up fee, can be redeemed for a bed net that protects against malaria-bearing mosquitoes which are most active at night. An important feature is that the commercial component provides an incentive to small retailers throughout the country to maintain a steady supply of nets. “Voucher programs provide cost effective net distribution, while stimulating consumer sales and improved use and ownership,” says Faith Patrick, MEDA Tanzania country manThe Marketplace July August 2012
A young mother rejoices in her new mosquito net, acquired through MEDA’s voucher program. ager. “At $8.33 per net, MEDA can ensure that pregnant women and infants — those at highest risk — have access to this simple, yet critical, tool. Almost 9,000 lives will be saved in 2012 alone.” MEDA’s network now includes 7,000 retailers throughout the country. With some 33 million nets now in use since
the beginning of the program, the effort is credited with saving more than 180,000 lives, mostly children and pregnant women. More recently, MEDA has developed mobile phone technology that delivers vouchers electronically to health clinics and redeems them from retailers via text messa-
A clinic worker (left) uses her cellphone to access/authorize a mosquito net eVoucher for patient and her child. 22
ging. A pregnant woman only needs the voucher number to redeem her voucher for a net at a nearby retailer. Electronic distribution not only saves on printing vouchers and physically sending them over long distances to remote locations, but also reduces the risk of fraud. The e-Voucher channel is catching on, say project officials. Electronic vouchers represented 11 percent of redemptions in February, 12 percent in March. They are expected to reach 20 percent by year-end. The focus on pregnant women and infants offers an important “keep up” component, says Ann Gordon, MEDA’s senior manager for the project. “It increases ownership and allows the commercial sector to thrive, while saving thousands of lives each year and reaching a target group that other campaigns, such as those in schools, do not.” ◆
