USAID Tanzania Vector Control Activity, Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Malar J. 2023 Oct 4;22(1):296. doi: 10.1186/s12936-023-04726-9.
The commercial sector plays a vital role in mosquito net ownership and access in Tanzania. The National Malaria Strategic Plan (NMSP) includes long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) delivery through the commercial sector as a complementary mechanism. The NMSP aims to increase LLIN sales while decreasing untreated mosquito net sales. This survey aimed to track quantities, market share of different net categories, prices, and origins of mosquito nets in retail markets and to engage stakeholders to analyse market trends.
This mixed-method mosquito net retail outlet survey was conducted in mid-2021 in six and in mid-2022 in eight regions. Field teams identified net-selling outlets in major urban and peri-urban markets and used snowball sampling to identify additional outlets. A structured questionnaire was used, and photos of available mosquito net products were taken. Key informant interviews were conducted with wholesalers and retailers. The relative market share of a product was calculated by using the mean of each sales category as frequency weights. Qualitative data analysis was undertaken by summarizing common themes and observations based on the research question.
A total of 394 and 1139 outlets were surveyed in 2021 and 2022, respectively. More than 96% of distributed brands in both years were untreated nets. The market share for untreated mosquito nets was 99.2% in 2021 and 88.3% in 2022. Bed net sales were seasonal, peaking in the rainy season and at the start of the school year. Leaked LLINs from the public sector comprised 0.3% of the market share in 2021 and 8.3% in 2022. Kigoma markets had the most significant frequency of leaked LLIN products. Legitimate LLINs were rare in 2021 (n = 2) and not found in 2022, despite the presence of a local LLIN manufacturer. A small number (n = 3) of untreated nets fabricated in China claiming to be LLINs were observed in 2022.
Despite NMCP's strategic approach to increasing retail market share for legitimate LLINs, significant challenges remain. Efforts are needed to change the current situation given the context of large-scale public sector distributions of LLINs, the higher consumer cost of LLINs, the lack of bed net varieties. Improvement of registration process is recommended.
商业部门在坦桑尼亚的蚊帐拥有量和获取方面发挥着至关重要的作用。国家疟疾战略计划（NMSP）包括通过商业部门提供长效驱虫蚊帐（LLIN），作为一种补充机制。NMSP 旨在增加 LLIN 的销售量，同时减少未经处理的蚊帐的销售量。本调查旨在跟踪零售市场中不同蚊帐类别的数量、市场份额、价格和来源，并让利益相关者参与分析市场趋势。
本混合方法蚊帐零售网点调查于 2021 年中期在六个地区和 2022 年中期在八个地区进行。实地小组在主要城市和城郊市场确定了销售蚊帐的网点，并使用雪球抽样法确定了其他网点。使用结构化问卷，并拍摄了现有蚊帐产品的照片。对批发商和零售商进行了关键知情人访谈。通过使用每个销售类别的平均值作为频率权重来计算产品的相对市场份额。根据研究问题进行了定性数据分析，总结了常见的主题和观察结果。
2021 年和 2022 年分别调查了 394 家和 1139 家网点。两年中，超过 96%的分发品牌都是未经处理的蚊帐。未经处理的蚊帐在 2021 年的市场份额为 99.2%，2022 年为 88.3%。蚊帐销售具有季节性，在雨季和学年开始时达到高峰。公共部门泄漏的 LLINs 占 2021 年市场份额的 0.3%和 2022 年的 8.3%。基戈马市场的 LLIN 泄漏产品出现频率最高。尽管当地有一家 LLIN 制造商，但 2021 年（n=2）合法 LLIN 很少见，2022 年则没有。2022 年观察到少量（n=3）声称是 LLIN 的中国制造的未经处理的蚊帐。
尽管 NMCP 采取了战略措施来增加合法 LLIN 在零售市场的份额，但仍面临重大挑战。鉴于大规模公共部门分配 LLINs、LLINs 消费者成本较高以及缺乏蚊帐品种等情况，需要做出努力改变当前局面。建议改进注册程序。
