Professor Hilary Hurd at Guardian Forum on Malaria Prevention
Professor Hilary Hurd (Professor of Parasitology in the School of Life Sciences) was invited to attend a forum organised by the Guardian on the role of mosquito nets in long-lasting strategies to prevent malaria.
The event, in association with the Malaria Consortium and supported by Comic Relief, was held at the Guardian offices in London. It brought together malaria and health development experts from the private, government, commercial and academic sectors.
During a panel discussion and workshop, delegates considered complex issues such as how to tackle the growth of mosquito resistance to bednet insecticides, various models for the continuous distribution of nets via the public and private sector when nets become damaged, and future strategies for their deployment in combination with other measures. A 20% reduction in child mortality and a 50% drop in malaria cases have been attributed to recent mass distributions of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets. A report of the meeting will be published in the Guardian shortly.