LUO FISHERMEN TURNS GOVERNMENT DONATED MOSQUITO NETS TO FISHING GEAR.
By Leo Odera Omolo
It has been confirmed that thousands of mosquito nets distributed to the residents of Bondo district to protect women children from malaria attacks have been converted into fishing nets instead.
When this writer visited Uhanya and
It was further disclosed that Bondo district has received a substantial number of mosquito nets from the government and non governmental organizations (NGO).This year alone more than 20,000 nets have been distributed to the residents.
The nets were intended for the bedrooms to combat malaria .But the mosquito nets are fast finding a new role. This turn of events is raising concern among public health and fisheries manager.
Apart from reversing the gains made in the fight against malaria, this misuse also poses a risk to the declining fish stocks in the
But the of the residents Mr. Ben Okoth insisted poor families are forced into selling their mosquito nets supplied to them free by the government and NGO due to object poverty. They are also being encouraged to do so by unscrupulous fishermen who pay them as little as kshs.100 for a xxx xx mosquito net.
According to Dr.Ayu Manya a senior official in the ministry of public health, the use of mosquito nets among women and children in fighting malaria remain abysmally low in Bondo although the district leads among the areas in the country that have received nets.
The district deputy public health officer xxx Okanga confirmed that about 3,000 malaria nets received in November 2007 were distributed freely in the area in April this year.
A further supply of 21,279 nets received from the Kenya Medical Research Institute/centre for Disease control and prevention and other organizations have also been distributed in Bondo district in a recently concluded campaign against malaria.
This figure is in addition to the 46,000 that were distributed in 2006. But most of the nets could be seen heaped in fishing boats and canoes along the lakeshore and in most fish dealers.
This trend is not confirmed to Bondo district alone but a common practice in most districts bordering the lake Victoria in Luo Nyanza such as Suba Rachuonyo Rarieda, Nyando, Homabay, Bondo and Migori.
Instead of the locals using the nets against the Killer insects that causes malaria disease, the communities living along the lake are turning them into scar. Some people are even known to using the nets for drying small fish known as ‘omena’ (Dagaa)
In a recent net treatment programme conducted countrywide, most of the residents in Bondo turned up with torn nets for exchange with new ones.
Concerned by the trend, the Public Health Ministry in conjunction with Public Health Institutions ,decided to change the colour of the mosquito nets to differentiate them from the white fishing nets. However this has not helped matters.
The green colored nets are still finding their way into the beaches.
During a recent routine patrols by a team of public health officials on the beaches, Mr.Okanga said fishermen were found to be using them openly.
“It is easy to differentiate mosquito nets from the rest since they are made from nylon materials ,” La explains.
A researcher study conducted jointly by researchers from
The study whose findings were published online in a recent issue of Malaria journal ,discovered that up to 83 per cent of beach areas in seven major fishing villages in Gembe west sub-district in Suba was covered by the mosquito nets. They were used for drying the fish.
In total. 283 mosquito nets were found to be in use. There were 72 cases where the nets were used for fishing.
Apart from reversing the gain made in the fight against malaria, the misuse of the nets pose a threat to the already declining stocks of the fish in Lake Victoria.
Fisheries manager say the small mesh size of the mosquito nets could catch juvenile fish, this threatening the sustainability of the resources.
Ends