UNITAID Invests in Baby Wraps
September 2, 2026
Lesu will join UNITAID’s CANVeCT project, led by the Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID), to support the implementation of insecticide-treated baby wraps across
Insecticide-treated fabrics against malaria
Creating a world where every child is protected from malaria by the very clothes they wear.
Preventing Malaria with Insecticide-Treated Baby Wraps
Malaria kills more than half a million children under age 5 every year. At the same time, progress against malaria has slowed as malaria-carrying mosquitoes increasingly bite outdoors and during the day, when children may not be protected by bed nets, indoor spraying, or other existing interventions.
Across Africa and other malaria-endemic regions, mothers commonly carry young children on their backs using cloth baby wraps. Lesu is working to transform these everyday fabrics into life-saving malaria prevention tools through insecticide treatment.
Our research in Uganda showed that permethrin-treated baby wraps reduced malaria infections in young children by two-thirds and reduced malaria-related hospitalizations by more than 50%.
Lesu Director of Research Dr. Ross Boyce discussing our work.
What We Do
Positive Early Results
A landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, led by Lesu’s Director of Research Ross Boyce, MD and Board Director Edgar Mulogo, PhD demonstrated:
66%
reduction in malaria incidence among children carried in treated wraps
50%+
reduction in malaria-related hospitalizations
Strong community acceptance and high utilization
No significant adverse events
A History of Safety and Life-Saving Efficacy
Pyrethroid insecticides have been widely used for decades in malaria prevention interventions, including insecticide-treated bed nets, and have been shown to be both safe and effective. Applied to baby wraps, this intervention can save hundreds of thousands of children’s lives over the next decade.
Why This Matters
The Opportunity
Unlike many malaria interventions that target indoor biting or require major behavioral changes, insecticide-treated baby wraps build on an already widespread cultural practice that moves with the child.
This creates the potential for:
- High adoption, rapid scale-up, and sustained use
- Protection outside the home during periods of mosquito exposure when other interventions provide no protection
- Integration into existing maternal and child health systems
- Local manufacturing and economic participation
Latest News
Cloth wraps treated with ‘dirt cheap’ insecticide cut malaria cases in babies
January 16, 2026
Soaking fabrics in a commonly used insect repellent is a simple and effective tool as mosquito bites become more common during daytime, study shows. From
Baby wraps treated with insecticide could help slash malaria cases, say researchers
January 16, 2026
The mosquito-borne disease kills around 610,000 people each year – the vast majority of them children under five across the continent Treating baby wraps with
In Fight Against Malaria, an Unexpected — and Snuggly — Shield
October 25, 2025
Treating baby wraps with a mosquito repellent shows promising protection against a top killer of children. As an American medical resident in a global health