Sleeping inside insecticide-treated mosquito nets is proven to reduce childhood mortality from malaria. Unfortunately, public health campaigns to distribute this information, along with treated nets, to people in Africa’s malaria-endemic regions have not met their goals.

In a comprehensive new book, Nothing But Nets: A Biography of Global Health Science and Its Objects, Kirsten Moore-Sheeley, PhD, tracks the history of net-related research, policymaking and distribution efforts.

In the past two decades, “governments, nongovernmental agencies and private organizations have helped distribute more than 2 billion insecticide-treated nets,” writes Moore-Sheeley, research assistant professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai.

While nets have often been touted over other malaria-control methods, Moore-Sheeley highlights the ideological and logistical challenges that agencies faced when presenting treated nets in different communities. Her observations provide insights into the ongoing struggle to control malaria in the region.