Kotido to distribute 137,200 mosquito nets after four-month delay

26 October 2026, 12:48 pm

By Hellen Aguyo Okello

Kotido District is set to begin distributing 137,200 long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets to households this week, following a four-month delay in the rollout of the malaria prevention campaign.

The nets, supplied by the Ministry of Health in June this year, are expected to benefit households across rural and urban areas of the district as part of the government’s efforts to reduce malaria infections and related deaths.

The district received 2,744 bales, each containing 50 mosquito nets, for free distribution to eligible households.

Speaking on Friday during the orientation of district and sub-county distribution task forces at La Maison Hotel in Kotido Town, Anthony Dilla, the district malaria focal person, said the exercise was scheduled to begin on October 23, 2026, at designated distribution points across the district.

Dilla said Village Health Teams (VHTs) were conducting household registration to establish the number of beneficiaries and collect residents’ identification and telephone details to facilitate an orderly distribution exercise.

He urged residents to provide accurate information about their household sizes, warning against inflating the number of family members in an attempt to receive more mosquito nets.

“Each household is expected to receive between one and five mosquito nets, depending on the number of occupants. We appeal to the community to provide the correct information during registration so that every household receives its fair share,” Dilla said.

He added that community cooperation would be critical to ensuring the nets reach the intended beneficiaries and that the distribution process is conducted transparently.

David Lokwii, the Health Assistant for Lokitelebu Town Council, commended the Ministry of Health for implementing integrated malaria prevention interventions, which he said had contributed to reducing malaria prevalence in the community.

Lokwii urged residents to continue embracing malaria prevention measures, noting that the distribution of treated mosquito nets should complement other interventions aimed at controlling the disease.

Meanwhile, Robert Okema, the Parish Chief of Kopor Parish in Kapeta Sub-county, said the limited rainfall experienced this year had coincided with what he described as a reduction in malaria transmission in the community.

Okema observed that reduced rainfall could mean fewer stagnant water pools in which mosquitoes breed, although he said continued malaria prevention efforts remained necessary.

He encouraged residents to use mosquito nets consistently, particularly at night, to protect themselves against mosquito bites even when malaria cases appear to decline.

Faustine Andama, an official from the Ministry of Health’s National Malaria Elimination Division, said the distribution in Kotido was part of a nationwide campaign targeting 130 districts and cities.

Andama said the Ministry planned to distribute 26 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets across the country to strengthen malaria prevention and reduce the disease burden among vulnerable populations.