In its renewed campaign against malaria, government plans to distribute 24 million free mosquito nets to households across the country.

Officials say the campaign, which will be undertaken in six phases, will start with districts, which have registered high malaria prevalence cases.

Speaking at the send-off event for the first batch of nets on Monday, the minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, said government embarked on another mosquito net distribution campaign to complement the first and second campaigns, which were a success.

Aceng said they would distribute 24 million nets during the entire campaign, starting with the first phase where 22 districts in the northern and West Nile regions will receive four million nets. More than 248 supervisors will head to the districts of Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum, Koboko and Moyo where they will register and sensitise communities.

“In a bid to ensure that we achieve the objectives of the campaign, I appeal to the general public to register for the nets when the village health team (VHT) comes to your household. No one will receive a mosquito net if not registered,” cautioned Aceng.

She observed that intensifying efforts to enable everyone access the mosquito nets would greatly help bring down the burden of malaria. In the 2009/2010 financial year, government, with the help of development partners like The Global Fund, embarked on its first mass net campaign where it distributed 7.3 million nets to children and women.

Three years later, in 2013/2014, the ministry embarked on the universal coverage campaign that saw it give out 21.7 million nets to all households across the country.

For the third campaign, government, with help from the Global Fund and USAID, has secured $18 million to finance the entire exercise. The first phase of the latest campaign will last five weeks and is expected to end on February 17. One mosquito net will be given per two people in the household.

Aceng appealed to leaders and health workers to mobilise residents to get involved in the registration exercise and to follow the Test, Treat and Track Policy (TTP) guidelines.

The second phase of the latest exercise is scheduled to commence on February 18.

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