Cambodia set to distribute more than 2.5M mosquito nets by end of year

Nov 14 2011

"Millions of Cambodians are set to receive insecticide-treated mosquito nets as part of a government-led effort to mitigate the risk of malaria and dengue fever," IRIN reports. "The nets will be distributed by the National Malaria Control Centre with technical assistance from WHO" and funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, according to IRIN. "The project aims to distribute 785,000 insecticide-treated nets in six provinces this month, including three of those hit hardest by the worst flooding in more than a decade, and "[i]n December, 1,915,000 insecticide-treated nets will be distributed in 13 provinces, the health ministry said," IRIN writes. In 2010, Cambodia recorded 56,217 malaria cases and 135 deaths from the disease, according to the news service, which adds "Prime Minister Hun Sen [has] set a target for eliminating deaths from malaria by 2015, and infections by 2025" (11/14).