Long-Lasting ITN Factory Opens in Arusha, Tanzania
Government officials, advocates and business executives gathered on Friday in Arusha, Tanzania, to dedicate the Olyset Net factory, which will produce long-lasting insecticide-treated nets, Africa Science News Service reports. Olyset is the only African manufacturer of long-lasting ITNs recommended by the World Health Organization. The factory is a joint venture between Tokyo-based Sumitomo Chemical and Tanzanian-based A to Z Textile Mills. Vector Health International, which is the legal entity of the joint venture, is an expansion of a business relationship that began in 2003 (Neondo, Africa Science News Service, 2/8).
According to a Sumitomo release, Olyset will increase long-lasting ITN production to 10 million in Africa annually. It also will create 3,200 jobs that will support about 20,000 people. Olyset nets are the only long-lasting ITNs to have passed all four stages of WHO's Pesticide Evaluation Scheme, which verifies efficacy and durability for at least five years, according to the release. Field tests in Tanzania have shown that the nets remain effective after seven years.
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"The Olyset model produces a vital public health product and simultaneously boosts economic development in Africa," Ali Mohammed Shein, Tanzania's vice president, said. "This Tanzania operation is a stronghold for our Olyset Net business," Hiromasa Yonekura, president of Sumitomo, said. Yonekura added that he plans to expand the company's "Olyset Net operations in Africa," enhance efforts to fight malaria and increase Sumitomo's contribution to "Africa's economic development."
Awa Marie Coll-Seck, executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, said that long lasting ITNs are a "vital tool in the fight against malaria." She added, "We are delighted to see such a huge expansion of local production capacity in Tanzania and the creation of more jobs, especially for women." According to Coll-Seck, "The transfer of this technology to Africa four years ago has reaped tremendous results and shows how innovative partnerships can produce sustainable benefits for public health" (Sumitomo release, 2/8).
