Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department has provided to Sierra Leone to combat malaria in each year since May 2010; and what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the malaria prevention programme in that country.

Since May 2010, DFID Sierra Leone has supported the distribution of 2.3 million long lasting insecticide treated bed nets (LLINs) through two nationwide campaigns completed in June 2011 and May 2014. The aim of these campaigns was to achieve universal coverage of LLINs in Sierra Leone as the most effective means of preventing malaria. A rapid assessment following the 2014 distribution campaign found that 81% of households visited nationwide were using at least one mosquito net, up from 37% in 2008. However, an evaluation designed to assess the longer term effectiveness of the campaign has been postponed due to the Ebola crisis. In addition, the Global Fund has provided a further 600,000 nets.