Malaria poses a significant health burden in Sierra Leone, with high transmission rates year-round. Children under five and pregnant women are mostly affected, leading to severe illness and death. The disease strains healthcare resources, hinders economic productivity, and challenges access to care, particularly in remote areas. Sierra Leone implements preventive measures and collaborates with global health partners to combat malaria, but challenges persist, highlighting the need for sustained efforts to address this threat to public health.

As part of its preventive measures, the Ministry of Health (MoH) conducts a free Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) mass distribution campaign every three years to rapidly increase and sustain ITN coverage. In line with this practice, the MoH is set to distribute 5,345,236 ITNs across the entire country. The campaign will be officially launched on 3rd Nov 2023 in Bo districts and the nationwide distribution will be from 4-10, November 2023.

To announce the 2023/2024 Nationwide ITNs Mass Distribution Campaign, the MoH, with support from WHO and various partners, organized a press briefing at the MoH conference hall in the Youyi Building, Freetown, on October 10, 2203. This was essential to provide the media with accurate, firsthand information about the campaign, with the dual purpose of reducing misinformation and encouraging active media participation in the campaign.

During the press briefing, several statements were provided by partners, with WHO delivering a statement on behalf of the UN family. Alongside the UN Family, WHO will play a pivotal role in supporting the campaign process including the assembling and supervising a team of independent monitors. Questions from the press were raised during the briefing, and they were adeptly handled by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and its collaborative partners.

The next steps in the campaign will involve training independent monitors by WHO to ensure quality assurance and regional engagement of paramount chiefs, mayors, and chairpersons, among others.