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OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, July 21, 2005 — Insecticide treated bednets are flying off the shelves at an unprecedented rate here and in only two months in 2005, PSI/Burkina Faso sold ten times more nets than it had annually from 2002-2004, providing tenfold the health impact. Séréna long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) have even infiltrated the elusive street hawker market, believed to be a world first for nets, and regarded by many as the ultimate symbol of successful informed demand creation. PSI/Burkina Faso first began net activities in 2002. Sales ranged from 20,000-30,000 annually from 2002 to 2004 and due to the price, availability was limited to urban and semi-urban areas. In 2003, a second PSI net project with support from UNICEF sold subsidized Séréna LLINs through health care centers to pregnant women and mothers of children under five. A total of 60,000 nets were sold between 2003 and 2004. But in October 2004, under a contract with United Nations Development Programme and The Global Fund, PSI set out to sell 300,000 LLINs in 14 months at 1/3 the previous cost and to extend net availability throughout the country. The results exceeded expectations. The first sign that latent demand might outpace anticipated sales occurred in late February during a test run in one of the hardest-to-reach provinces in Burkina Faso. Over 75% of rural shops approached purchased an initial stock and frequently salesman had to limit the number of nets sold to any given outlet. In four out of ten shops a consumer was witnessed purchasing a net from the store owner before the PSI salesman had even concluded his sale. Subsequent signs of unexpected latent demand started to appear in March. Major wholesalers began by ordering 200 nets on Monday, 200 again on Tuesday, 500 on Wednesday and 2,500 on Friday. By the following week, super wholesalers were ordering 5,000 nets every two to three days. Within days of the start of distribution activities, street hawkers were seen selling nets in Ouagadougou and, by the end of the month, the nets began appearing in both urban and rural areas where PSI sales activities had yet to begin. Despite limited communication activities, over 200,000 LLINs were sold in Burkina Faso in the first two months of activities - even before the onset of the "malaria season" - fully depleting the initial order. Months later, an additional 75,000 LLINs were delivered and will be distributed during the coming weeks. — Steven Lutterbeck and Kristen Combs, PSI/Burkina Faso
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