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MAIA mosquito repellant — MAÏA® mosquito repellant

In collaboration with IPA Burkina Faso, the Research Institute of Health Sciences in Burkina Faso and MAÏA Africa SAS, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to examine the impacts of price subsidies on the adoption and usage of a malaria prevention ointment. Whether they purchased the ointment or obtained it for free, households used the ointment, with those that received it for free using it at the highest rate.

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Malaria remains a significant global health challenge, with Africa accounting for 95 percent of the estimated 247 million malaria cases and 619,000 deaths in 2021.¹ In Burkina Faso, despite extensive malaria prevention campaigns, the disease persists as the leading cause of consultations, hospitalizations, and deaths, with more than 12 million cases and 4,355 deaths recorded in 2021.² MAÏA Africa SAS, a social enterprise based in Burkina Faso, has developed MAÏA®, a mosquito repellent ointment that has proven effective in repelling malaria mosquitoes and ensuring protection which impacts the health of children and the well-being of mothers.³

In partnership with the Research Institute of Health Sciences in Burkina Faso, MAÏA Africa SAS and IPA Burkina Faso, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to analyze how price affects the adoption and usage of MAÏA® mosquito repellent ointment. The intervention involved approximately 3,100 households located within a 50-kilometer radius of the center of the capital city, Ouagadougou. These households were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups. The first group of households could purchase the ointment at market price, the second received a 50 percent subsidy, and the third could obtain the ointment for free through vouchers.

In all three groups, households adopted and used the ointment. In the group that obtained the ointment for free, already 95 percent of households used it over the first month following the beginning of the intervention, the highest rate among the three groups. In the group that purchased the ointment at market price, usage during the first month of the intervention was 24 percent, while in the group with a partial subsidy it was 52 percent. Four months after the intervention, usage of the product increased to 47 percent among households purchasing it at market price, to nearly 80 percent for those receiving a subsidy, and to nearly 100 percent for those receiving it for free.