Most people prefer the conical insecticide treated nets to the rectangular - Researcher

A study conducted by the GNA in Koforidua, has showed that most people prefer the use of the conical insecticide mosquito treated bed nets to the rectangular ones due to the difficulty in hanging.

According to most people GNA spoke with in an interview, the conical mosquito nets were easier to hang and manage as against the rectangular ones that required four corners of nails or a structure to be able to hang the nets over bed.

In a random interview with a cross section of people in Koforidua and its environs, people indicated that apart from making them uncomfortable due to the heat, the process of hanging also prevented them from using the treated bed nets.

According to experts, sleeping under the insecticide treated mosquito nets was one of the surest ways to prevent malaria, especially in pregnant women and children under five years, however many people shun the idea.

Most respondents said heat was preventing them from sleeping under the nets.

The National malaria control Programme, has since adopted a strategy of distributing the insecticide treated nets to children at schools, child welfare clinics and to pregnant women at antenatal clinics yet, the use of the nets were low.

Information obtained from the Ghana Health Service showed that the conical nets were more expensive than the rectangular ones and so under the free distribution exercise, it was the rectangular ones that were distributed and that the conical ones were not readily available.

Madam Gladys Kono, a public servant told GNA that she had more than five of the nets acquired through the free distribution in schools and at the hospitals, but she was not using them because of the heat and the difficulty in hanging the nets.

She said she once used the conical one and was comfortable with it because it was easy to hang, however she discarded it after three years and searched for a new one to no avail.

Madam Akua Yavu, a trader said she also had more than three of the nets given to her children in school under the free distribution exercise, but she was not using them because she couldn’t hang them and had no time to engage a carpenter.

She said a friend was using the conical type and she wanted to buy, but could not get it on the market and so appealed to the ministry to bring more of the conical nets than the rectangular ones which took more efforts to hang.

Mr Kwame Aloso, a businessman said he used the conical one for his children, but for sometime now she had not been able access some in the market.