Fighting Malaria Together Newsletter - August 2011

Closing the bednet gap with innovative financing

A new financing mechanism is helping bednets reach malaria-endemic countries faster than ever.

NetGuarantee is an innovative financing mechanism designed to accelerate delivery of life-saving mosquito nets to families in Africa. Until recently, countries that have been awarded grants for malaria control must wait until funds are dispersed before orders for bednets can be placed. It can take up to ten months for a grant to be processed, plus an additional two months to transfer funds to the recipient. Once an order is placed, it takes another six months for the nets to be manufactured and procured by a country. Thus, it can take a full year and a half after a grant proposal is approved for bednets to actually arrive in the homes for which they are intended.

NetGuarantee partners with commercial insurers to close that gap by providing financial guarantees to net manufacturers, thereby enabling parallel processing so that procurement and production can begin before funds from a grant are dispersed. Then, once a country has received funds, the nets are produced and ready to be delivered. Through this process, countries are able to cut six months from the procurement process, which helps prevent stock-outs or gaps in coverage and allows countries to distribute bednets before the rainy season arrives, preventing needless illnesses and deaths from malaria.

A subsidiary of Malaria No More, NetGuarantee partners with the Global Fund, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, and commercial insurers. It completed its first transaction with a global commercial insurer and in partnership with Malaria Consortium and the Mozambique Ministry of Health in January 2011.