Press Release
25 April 2006
Bed nets reduce risk of miscarriage by one third in Africa
On Africa Malaria Day Hilary Benn calls for more nets, access to medicine and
research
 Pregnant
women in Africa can reduce their risk of miscarriages and stillbirths by up to a
third by sleeping under insecticide treated bed nets, according to research by
the
 Liverpool
School of Tropical Medicine.
The recent review, funded by the Department for International Development,
consolidates the results of four African trials involving more than 6,000 women.
It shows conclusively that using insecticide treated bed nets reduced the
number of miscarriages and stillbirths by one third in the most vulnerable
women, those in their first pregnancies. The number of low-birthweight babies
fell by a quarter among those who slept under a treated net.
Every year in malaria-prone regions of Africa, at least 200,000 pregnancies
are lost through miscarriage or stillbirth and 80-200,000 infants die as a
result of malaria infection during pregnancy.
Tomorrow, on
Africa
Malaria Day, International Development Secretary
Hilary Benn will be in Rwanda, where he will meet people distributing bed
nets, and the pregnant women who have benefited from them. Across Africa, DFID
is helping provide over 25 million bed nets.
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Mr Benn said:
“Malaria kills over one million people a year, most of them children
living in sub-Saharan Africa. In many ways this research confirms what we
already know, that bed nets save lives. But still not enough children and
pregnant mothers in Africa sleep under insecticide treated nets.
“Africa Malaria Day serves to remind us all of the terrible toll brought
by this disease. We know what works in tackling malaria, but we need to do
more of it. That means more bed nets to protect the vulnerable, better
access to medicine so that malaria can be treated affordably and more
research to find new ways of fighting the disease.”
Although the benefits of using bed nets may seem obvious, in some areas
pregnant women choose not to use them.
Paul Garner of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and co-author of the
review said:
“Previous reviews provided the conclusive evidence that insecticide
treated nets help save the lives of children under five years old. This
review gives health professionals the information they need to explain the
benefits of insecticide treated nets and encourage pregnant women to use
them.”
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Malaria in Africa the facts
- Malaria kills over one million people a year, mostly children in
sub-Saharan Africa.
- More than 90 per cent of all malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan
Africa.
- Malaria accounts for between a fifth and nearly a half of hospital
admissions in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Economic costs due to Malaria in Africa are estimated at US $12
billion a year.
What the Department for International Development is doing to help tackle
malaria in Africa:
- Supporting global partnerships:
Roll
Back Malaria Partnership (DFID contributed £49 million to date) and
the
Global
Fund to combat Aids, TB and Malaria (DFID committed £359 million).
Expected to deliver 264 million treatments for malaria and 109 million
bed nets.
- Founder member of
UNITAID,
which supports the provision of drugs and diagnostics for AIDS, TB and
Malaria. £15 million committed this year, due to rise to £40 million a
year by 2010.
- Supporting research on new drugs for malaria, including £10 million
to the
Medicines
for Malaria Venture.
- Working with African countries to tackle Malaria, including in:
- Kenya, where
DFID has committed £47.4 million to a project aiming to double the
number of households using insecticide treated nets, and increase
the use among pregnant women and children under five. By the end of
2007, 11 million bed nets will have been delivered.
- Malawi,
where, with DFID support, more than 100,000 nets have been delivered
every month as part of a nationwide programme. In some districts,
the proportion of children sleeping under insecticide treated nets
has risen from less than one in ten to six out of ten.
- Nigeria,
where a new DFID programme will provide subsidised bed nets for poor
and vulnerable children, as will as preventative treatment for
pregnant women and treatment for children. The programme aims
directly to prevent 220,000 deaths.
For further information, contact 020 7023 0600, e-mail
pressoffice@dfid.gov.uk or call our
Public Enquiries Point on 0845 300 4100.
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