The ministry said that about half of the people in malaria-prone areas complain the smell of the treated nets is too strong, making it difficult to sleep.
Some people (17 per cent) also complained of the inconvenience of the nets for couples trying to have children.
“Respondents also reported the tediousness of unfolding the nets and covering the sleeping space (36 per cent),” the ministry says in the Kenya Malaria Behaviour Survey, launched in Nairobi on Wednesday.
The ministry, which is running against time to have Kenya declared malaria-free by 2030, is seeking a 100 per cent use of nets in malaria-prone areas.
But even though most families have insecticide-treated nets, they do not use them consistently.
Health PS Josephine Mburu, who launched the survey, said the ministry aims to distribute 18.3 million long-lasting insecticidal nets in 28 counties next year.
“Despite the tremendous investment in malaria, the uptake of malaria interventions at the community and household levels remains below target,” she noted.
“These findings will help us improve our design of social behaviour change strategies to reach those most at risk in our communities.”
The survey was done in Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Vihiga, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Migori and Siaya in 1,456 households comprising 7,573 people.
Out of the 2,253 respondents from these households, 1,787 were women and 466 were men.
The ministry advised health workers to consistently frame net use as an easy behaviour to practise and maintain positive attitudes about net use.
Nevertheless, about 92 per cent of the people said they know that nets are highly effective to prevent mosquito bites.
Sleeping under insecticide-treated nets is the most widely adopted and cost-effective preventive measure against malaria globally.
The nets are treated with pyrethroids and piperonal-butoxide (PBO), a chemical that enhances the potency of pyrethroids against resistant mosquitoes.
When mosquitoes try to bite someone sleeping under a net, they are not only blocked by the netting but also killed by the insecticide.
The chemical is not harmful to people and the smell reduces if one hangs the net in an airy place for at least 24 hours before use.
The indoor residual spraying with chemicals to kill mosquitoes is also highly acceptable by 94 per cent of people.
The survey also shows although most people appreciate indoor residual spraying, half of them find it a bother to be asked to move their belongings outside their houses, for the walls and ceiling to be sprayed.
They also have concerns, which are incorrect, about the chemicals used.
“Common misconceptions were cited including the belief that IRS causes skin rashes (38 per cent) and that walls in a home sprayed with IRS are not safe to touch even after drying (32 per cent).
The ministry also launched the Kenya Malaria Social Behaviour Change Strategy 2022-2027, Kenya Malaria Elimination Implementation Plan 2019-2023 and the County Malaria Epidemiological and Control Profiles.
Dr Abdourahmane Diallo, the World Health Organization country representative, praised Kenya for reducing malaria burden from eight per cent in 2015 to six per cent in 2020.
He also congratulated Kenya for adopting the RTSS malaria vaccine.
“At the end of February 2023, over 1,1 million doses of the vaccine had been administered to children under the age of five, of whom 386,000 had received the first of the four-dose vaccine,” he said.
Dr Mildred Shieshia, the resident adviser of the President's Malaria Initiative said Kenya's bednets campaign aims to reach eight million people.
"In 2023 the US government through PMI supports roll out of a digital platform to streamline processes, strengthen data quality, and increase accountability for net delivery to beneficiaries in partnership with Global Fund," Shieshia said.
