Malaria prevalence and use of bednets among under-five children

Introduction: Malaria is a serious health concern in Africa. Cameroon is a hyper-endemic country to malaria where it represents the main public health issue, especially in children under five years of age. Several control measures have been put in place among which the use of insecticide-treated bednets (ITBN) is considered one of the core vector control strategies. However, the greatest challenges include possession and utilization by individuals and households. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of malaria and the use of insecticide-treated bednets among the under-five children in the Buea Health District (BHD), so as to fight against the morbidity and mortality of malaria.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the Buea Health District which is tagged a malaria hyper-endemic area. Every head of the simple randomly selected household either female or male that was present at home at the time of data collection was interviewed using a structured questionnaire and bednets used was verified with an observational checklist. Under-five children were ascertained for malaria using microscopy with temperature 37.5oC.