Summary: AMF has agreed to fund 96 million nets for distribution in DRC in 2027, 2028 and 2029. These nets will protect 144m people and, of these, 28 million again in a second distribution. The impact is expected to be ~70,000 deaths prevented, ~50 million cases of malaria averted and USD3.3 billion of economic improvement. DRC is one of the two countries in the world worst affected by malaria and there is an opportunity to fundamentally affect health outcomes.
AMF has agreed to fund 96 million nets for distribution in DRC in 2027, 2028 and 2029.
With final signatures now in place, we are pleased to share publicly news of these net distributions.
We are able to fund this programme thanks to support from GiveWell and Coefficient Giving as announced recently. The distributions will be carried out via a co-funding partnership with The Global Fund who will be contributing directly significant funding of their own.
Key partners in country are the DRC Ministry of Health, the leadership and staff of the PNLP (Programme National de Lutte contre le Paludisme – National Malaria Control Programme) and many thousands of staff within the national health system who play a crucial role in programme delivery. Also key are a number of independent monitoring partners with whom AMF has worked for many years and whose work is funded directly by AMF.
The distributions will be implemented by the PNLP with whom AMF has a strong working relationship and together we work to a comprehensive operational framework that underpins all distributions. Starting several years in advance of the distributions, the AMF team spends significant time working with the NMCP on all aspects of operational planning.
We will report transparently on progress and performance throughout and after the distribution.
The nets should achieve full coverage of sleeping spaces across all 514 health zones in all 26 provinces to protect 144 million people when they sleep at night from the bites of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. In addition, five provinces will receive a second distribution of nets, 24 months after the prior distribution, as part of Project 24 (more below) which will protect 28 million people.
The provinces that will receive nets are:
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in 2027 (6 distributions): Ituri (4.4 million nets), Tanganyika (2.6m), Lualaba (2.5m), Kwango (1.7m), Kasai Central (3.7m) and Maniema (2.2m)
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in 2028 (12): Sud Kivu (6.3m), Sankuru (1.8m), Nord Kivu (3.7m), Kwilu (4.2m), Equateur (1.9m), Tshuapa (1.5m), Lomami (3.3m), Kasai (3.4m), Mongala (2.3m), Sud Ubangi (2.4m), Mai Ndombe (1.8m) and Haut Uele (1.6m)
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in 2029 (8): Nord Ubangi (1.3m), Kinshasa (5.8m), Kasai Oriental (3.6m), Kongo Central (4.3m), Bas Uele (1.0m), Tshopo (3.0m), Haut Lomami (3.3m) and Haut Katanga (6.5m)
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in 2029 (Project 24, 5 provinces): Kwango (1.8m), Tanganyika (2.8m), Ituri (4.8m), Kasai Central (3.9m) and Maniema (2.3m)
Project 24 aims to understand the impact of distributing nets 24 months after the previous distribution to see how this improves malaria control. In the final year of a three year cycle, coverage rates are at their lowest due to nets wearing out. By distributing nets after two years, high levels of sleeping space coverage are restored turning year three into a year of high coverage and helping to avoid malaria resurgence. It will allow us to collect data to see how the reduced time gap between distributions impacts malaria levels and it has the potential to inform future work.
DRC is affected year-round by malaria and these nets have the potential to play a major part in reducing deaths and illness.
These nets can be expected to prevent around 70,000 deaths, avert more than 50 million cases of malaria and make a material impact on the economy of DRC. It is estimated that the improvement in GDP (Gross Domestic Product), a measure of economic performance, as a result of AMF’s commitment would be about USD3.3 billion.
Nets are being ordered now to meet timelines for the distributions that are scheduled to take place in the first half of 2027.
Key elements of our agreement include:
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AMF is funding 96 million LLINs (revised upwards from previously published ~90m nets), with distribution throughout 2027, 2028 and 2029
- This is a co-funding partnership with a portion of non-net costs (shipping, pre-distribution, distribution) funded by The Global Fund
- To support accurate data gathering, verification of net need numbers will take place by re-visiting a material number of households chosen at random
- Household-level data will be collected using electronic-devices and then transferred into AMF's Data Entry System (DES) for analysis and verification. This, and the above elements combined, are the basis for a highly accountable distribution.
- Post-distribution monitoring of net use and condition (PDMs) will take place every nine months for two and a half years in all districts. AMF will fund this.
Further information is available via AMF’s distributions listing