Sudan distributes anti-malaria nets in war affected areas
February 27, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – In order to improve and expand basic health services in four war affected states, Sudanese government with the support of World Bank distributed about 180 thousand anti-malaria bed nets.
On September12th, 2007 the Federal Ministry of Health signed a contract with Vester Guaard Company, selected through international competitive bidding, for a total amount of US$1,124,000, to provide 179,100 nets to these war-affected areas.
In the framework of the Decentralized Health System Development Project (DHSDP), the distribution of Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) has been conducted in the four states targeted by the project, namely: Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, Kassala and Red Sea.
The health project aims at improving the access to basic health services of about five million conflict-affected and underserved populations in the target states.
The allocation and distribution process followed the guidelines set by the National Malaria Control Program, which targets the most vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and under-five children.
The share among the targeted states, proportional to the target population, is as follows: 89.500 for South Kordofan, 32.200 for Kassala, 30.500 for Red Sea, and 26.900 for Blue Nile. The DHSDP contribution represents 36% of the total number of bed nets distributed by the Malaria Program in 2006/2007 (incl. UNICEF and the Global Fund contributions).
At the LLINs distribution ceremony in Kassala, Dr. Mohamed Osman, DHSDP Coordinator at the Federal Ministry of Health emphasized the significance of the malaria-control measures, and reaffirmed the project’s commitment to maximize the impact of health interventions by reaching out disadvantageous communities.
A Grant of US$ 6 million from the World Bank administrated MDTF-N and the federal government funding of US$ 13 million was signed on October 29, 2006 to finance Phase 1 of the project.
The World Bank is assigned the role of administering two Multi-Donor Trust Funds (MDTFs) that were established to support priority activities for post-conflict Sudan. Pledges to both MDTFs totalize now US$ 586.6 million, of which US$508.5 million were pledged at the Oslo Donor Conference in April 2005.
The MDTF-National supports the Government of National Unity primarily in the reconstruction and development of war-affected and marginalized areas in the Northern states, while the MDTF-South supports the decentralization, recovery and development initiatives undertaken by the Government of Southern Sudan.
(ST)