Press release

USAID helps protect nearly 700,000 Senegalese from getting malaria

A trained sprayer works in the village of Keur Moussa, near the border with The Gambia. Photo: R. Nyberg, USAID.

DAKAR, August 23, 2007 – Results from a USAID-funded campaign to spray the indoor walls of homes in entire communities -- the first widespread malaria prevention activity of its kind in Senegal for over a half a century – show that nearly 700,000 Senegalese are less likely to contract malaria this rainy season. 

In an indoor residual spraying (IRS) pilot activity launched in May and June in the districts of Nioro, Richard Toll, and Vélingara, a total of 76,491 houses were sprayed, protecting 680,934 people. The activity far surpassed its target of treating 75,000 houses to protect 500,000 people.

Broken down by district, in Nioro, 30,740 houses were sprayed, protecting 275,899 people; in Richard Toll, 22,402 houses were sprayed, protecting 155,379 people; and in Vélingara, 23,349 houses were treated, protecting 249,656 residents.

IRS is the application of safe insecticides to the indoor walls and ceilings of a home or structure in order to interrupt the spread of malaria by killing mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite.

The spraying campaign in the districts of Nioro, Richard Toll, and Vélingara used the chemical ICON (lambda-cyhalothrin), one of the World Health Organization approved insecticides for IRS.

This activity is part of a comprehensive malaria program in Senegal funded through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), which includes indoor residual spraying and insecticide-treated bed nets for prevention, medical interventions to address malaria in pregnancy, and effective diagnosis and treatment of malaria with artemisinin-based combination therapies at both health facility and community levels. This year, Senegal, where malaria accounts for more deaths than any other single cause, will receive $16.7 million in PMI assistance. A similar level of funding is expected each year through 2010.

The PMI is an interagency initiative led by USAID, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and host-country governments, as key partners. The goal of the PMI is to assist national malaria control programs to cut malaria-related deaths by 50 percent in 15 focus countries in Africa. This goal will be achieved by reaching 85 percent of the most vulnerable groups -- children under five years of age and pregnant women - with proven and effective prevention and treatment measures.

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