Acquisition of bed-nets, sleeping-habits, and control of malaria in the Gambia: sociocultural dimension.

Randomized controlled trials in African settings with different intensities of malaria-transmission have shown that insecticide-treated nets are efficacious in reducing postneonatal mortality from all causes (1,2). The Gambian National Impregnated Bed-net Programme achieved an 83% net-treatment rate, and overall mortality of children aged less than five years fell by 25% a decade ago (1). However, severe malaria still remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among young Gambian children (3,4). Much has been reported on the coverage of insecticide-treated nets under trial situation, but the proportion of households that are properly deploying insecticide-treated nets in real life is not currently known.