Lessons from malaria control activities in urban West Africa using a research-action-capacity building approach

In the South, urban environmental and social management is often based on top-down approaches which use technologies and strategies not corresponding to the demands of the inhabitants and to their social, economic and ecological realities. This paper discusses how a community-based approach - Research Action Capacity Building (RAC) - can be valuable for malaria control and more specifically for the dissemination of insecticide treated bednets. Taking a bednet project in NDjamena, capital of Chad, as an example, the article investigates the potential and the limitations of this approach for mobilising and strengthening sustainable activities and capacity building at community level