Distribution of subsidized insecticide-treated bed nets through a community health committee in Boboye Health District, Niger

In Niger, insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) have been distributed to the target group of households with young children and/or pregnant women at healthcare facilities in the course of antenatal/immunization clinics. With the aim of universal coverage, ITNs were additionally distributed to households through strengthened com-munity health committees in 2009. This study assessed the impact of the community-based net distribution strat-egy involving community health committees in the ITN coverage in Boboye Health District, Niger. A cross-sectional survey was carried out on 1,034 households drawn from the intervention area (the co-existence of thecommunity-based system together with the facility-based system) and the control area (the facility-based systemalone). In the intervention area, 55.8% of households owned ITNs delivered through the community-based system,and 29.6% of households exclusively owned ITNs obtained through the community-based system. Thecommunity-based system not only reached households within the target group (54.6% ownership) but also thosewithout (59.1% ownership). Overall, household ITN ownership was significantly higher in the intervention areathan in the control area (82.5% vs. 60.7%). In combination, the community-based system and the facility-basedsystem achieved a high ITN coverage. The community-based system contributed to reducing leakage in thefacility-based system. Copyright © 2012 by The Japanese Society of Tropical Medicine.