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NetMark

PAST PROJECT

NetMark was a ten-year (1999–2009), $65.4 million United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded project aimed at reducing the burden of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa by increasing the commercial supply of and public demand for insecticide treated nets.

The NetMark Project’s goal was to reduce malaria cases and deaths in Africa by increasing the availability, affordability and use of insecticide-treated mosquito bed nets (ITNs) through partnerships with commercial net and insecticide manufacturers and their African distributors.

Strategy

NetMark public-private partnerships insecticide-treated nets itns bednets Ethiopia Through NetMark, AED (now FHI 360) pioneered its innovative Full Market Impact™ (FMI™) model, a comprehensive approach for expanding markets for health products and services. NetMark’s full impact on the ITN market encompassed six areas:

Supply

NetMark increased the supply of ITNs by improving the coordination of commercial and institutional procurements, providing technical and financial support to expand manufacturing capacity and quality, and creating strong links between manufacturers and the best distributors in Africa. Increasing the supply of ITNs was necessary to meet the rapid increase in demand for ITNs (particularly LLINs) among consumers and institutional buyers.

Demand

NetMark built demand for ITNs through marketing campaigns based on extensive behavioral research. This effort was amplified by joint investment with African distributors and ITN suppliers who marketed their own brands. As demand grew within a competitive market, consumers benefited from improved quality, lower prices and wider availability.

Distribution

NetMark worked with suppliers and distributors to ensure the uninterrupted distribution of ITNs at a national scale through improved stock management, joint investment to expand the number of outlets carrying ITNs, partnerships with grassroots organizations for community level distribution, and mobile promotional teams.

Improved Technologies

NetMark worked closely with world-class consultants from Anovotek, insecticide companies, and net manufacturers to bring the most promising LLIN technologies from the laboratory to Africa as quickly as possible. NetMark continued to support the technology transfer for LLIN production so that LLINs were available to individuals and institutional buyers at the lowest possible cost.

Equity

AED believes that economics should never be a barrier to ITN use in Africa. NetMark worked with commercial- and public-sector partners to ensure equal demand and access to ITNs across all socioeconomic groups. NetMark used targeted subsidies to provide discounted or free ITNs to the most vulnerable populations via the commercial sector. In countries with high and equitable net coverage (e.g., Mali), NetMark worked with partners to promote the retreatment of those nets.

Sustainability

NetMark developed a “market” culture to replace a “trader” culture, in which suppliers and distributors simply sold what they could when they could. In this regard, NetMark facilitated the growth of strong, lasting partnerships between suppliers and their distributors.

News, Publications, and Results

Results

NetMark achieved unprecedented results through public-private partnership:

Access to Survival
Video 1 Buzz, 2002 (French and English)
Video 1, 2004 (French and English)
Since 2002 the African commercial sector, under the umbrella of NetMark support, delivered over 30 million nets and 14 million insecticide treatment kits.
NetMark's communication activities helped reach more than 100 million people (with information) about the dangers of malaria and how ITNs can prevent it.
Awareness of ITNs increased from an average of 43 percent in 2000 (Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal) to 82 percent in 2004; and ownership of ITNs has increased from 5 percent to 27percent over the same period in those countries.
Taxes and tariffs on ITNs were reduced or eliminated in ALL seven NetMark target countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia).
Since 1999, NetMark developed partnerships with 30 African and 9 international commercial partners who invested over $31.6 million dollars in country programs and restructured to develop and support retail markets. This translated into approximately $0.97 invested by the commercial sector for every dollar invested by USAID. In 2005 NetMark leveraged over $2.32 in commercial investment for every USAID dollar spent.

View more results

For more information, please visit the NetMark website at http://www.netmarkafrica.org/.

Contacts

Center for Private Sector Health Initiatives
1825 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20009
+1 (202) 884-8334
pshi@fhi360.org