Heterogeneity of use, access, and retention of insecticide-treated nets: Implications for subnational tailoring to maximise malaria control.

Subnational variation in ITN use, access, and retention significantly influences malaria control effectiveness, with usage averaging 21 months but ranging from 12 to 38 months across regions.

• Why it matters: Understanding regional differences in ITN deployment and retention is crucial for optimizing malaria interventions and resource allocation, yet these variations have not been quantitatively analyzed at subnational levels.
• What they did: The study estimated subnational ITN use, access, and retention in six countries and calibrated a transmission model to assess the impact of different distribution strategies, including campaign frequency and ITN efficacy.
• The result: Increasing campaign frequency from triennial to biennial could raise average ITN use from 45.4% to 53.9%, reducing cases especially in moderate and high transmission areas, highlighting the importance of tailored strategies.