Net benefits
An old idea and new technology, a Japanese giant and a Tanzanian textile company, all combine to fight the scourge of malaria. Report by Malcolm Doney.
Mosquito nets have been around for centuries. The Chinese made them from silk and introduced them to Japan more than a thousand years ago. So who would have thought that in the 21st century this simple protection method would become the leading edge of technology in the fight against malaria – the world’s single largest killer of children in Africa?
Anti-malaria bednets, treated with the chemical DDT, were first used during World War II by the Russian,
German and US armies. The chemicals have improved since then, but still bednets usually need to be regularly re-impregnated by their users. While this is not a difficult process and huge strides have been made in making chemical solutions available, even to those in remote areas, it does place the onus on people who own the bednets to ‘manage’ their nets. But now technology has moved on, with the development of long-lasting, insecticidetreated nets (LLINs). And, thanks to an unusual Japanese-Tanzanian partnership, there is now a plan to massively boost production.
Malaria causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and at least 1 million deaths each year. It is the leading cause of mortality for the under-fives and accounts for 40% of public health expenditure. The estimated cost to Africa is more than $12 billion a year in lost GDP.
Malaria also increases susceptibility to infection by other diseases. Pregnant women and their unborn children are particularly vulnerable. Malaria contributes to low birth weight and anaemia, and children who survive severe malaria attacks can suffer from learning impairments or brain damage.
Even with huge advances in biomedical science, malaria eradication remains a distant prospect. ‘Traditional’ antimalarial drugs are not just expensive for routine use, but often ineffective because of drug resistance. So, for the foreseeable future, the emphasis has to be on malaria prevention. This is where the bednets come in – ideally, these need to be LLINs which can withstand the rigours of daily family life in rural African communities. The key is to ensure that the purchasers of these nets – principally African governments, aid agencies and other NGOs – can distribute them as quickly as possible to the people who need them most. This is precisely the issue that has been addressed by an unprecedented joint venture between the Japanese giant Sumitomo Chemical, and A to Z Textiles, based in Arusha, Tanzania.
Sumito are the creators of the ‘Olyset’ net – the first LLIN to pass the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme. Olyset is a remarkable product: it is guaranteed to last at least five years; it never needs retreatment; its polythene technology makes it virtually tear-proof; it can be washed up to 20 times and still remain effective; its control-release technology enables the non-toxic insecticide to be contained within the fibre, not coated on the outside; it has a quadruple insecticide effect on mosquitoes – bite inhibition, repellency, knockdown and kill.
In 2003 Sumitomo teamed up with the Acumen Fund (a non-profit global venture fund) and others to find an African partner to manufacture Olyset. Out of a number of potential producers, A to Z was selected. Sumitomo transferred to A to Z, on a royalty-free basis, the technology behind Olyset – with Acumen providing an interest-free loan to A to Z so the company could buy the necessary machinery and manage the project in its plant in Arusha.
Sumitomo is a multinational which subscribes to the tenet that – alongside commercial considerations – its activities should make a lasting contribution to the public good in the communities in which it operates. The company has made a commitment to ensure that Olyset is available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible cost.
Olyset production started in 2004 in A to Z’s original factory but it soon became clear that the first year’s production figures – approximately half a million nets – could expand dramatically. Which is how in February, Tanzania’s Vice President Dr Ali Mohammed Shein came to preside over the dedication of the new purpose-built Sumitomo/A to Z Olyset net factory – which has brought production capacity to over 10 million nets a year.
The new factory is bringing a second benefit – jobs. The plant is now one of Tanzania’s largest employers with approximately 3,200 staff, mostly women. Each job is supporting an average of six family members. Margaret Mambo’s family, for instance, has managed to net both benefits. She has worked for A to Z for five years and is now a supervisor. “My job lets me take care of my children and educate them”, she says. “It will allow my children to have even better careers.” And she knows first hand the value of the product she is helping to make: “I and my family sleep under Olyset nets, and I encourage neighbours to do it too. If you sleep under an Olyset net you are not bitten by mosquitoes. I have been almost six years sleeping under the net and have had no problems with malaria in that time.”
Sumitomo is establishing separate net ‘sewing’ operations in Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique. It wants to see African manufacturing done by Africans and for Africans. Dr Awa Marie Coll-Seck, Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership – an international partnership of governments and agencies – is clear about the benefits of the nets and the Sumitomo/A to Z collaboration. “Long lasting insecticide nets are a vital tool in the fight against malaria. We are delighted to see such a huge expansion of local production capacity in Tanzania. The transfer of this technology to Africa has reaped tremendous results and shows how innovative partnerships can produce sustainable benefits for public health.”
MORE INFORMATION
www.sumivector.com
Mosquito nets have been around for centuries. The Chinese made them from silk and introduced them to Japan more than a thousand years ago. So who would have thought that in the 21st century this simple protection method would become the leading edge of technology in the fight against malaria – the world’s single largest killer of children in Africa?
Anti-malaria bednets, treated with the chemical DDT, were first used during World War II by the Russian,
Malaria causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and at least 1 million deaths each year. It is the leading cause of mortality for the under-fives and accounts for 40% of public health expenditure. The estimated cost to Africa is more than $12 billion a year in lost GDP.
Malaria also increases susceptibility to infection by other diseases. Pregnant women and their unborn children are particularly vulnerable. Malaria contributes to low birth weight and anaemia, and children who survive severe malaria attacks can suffer from learning impairments or brain damage.
Even with huge advances in biomedical science, malaria eradication remains a distant prospect. ‘Traditional’ antimalarial drugs are not just expensive for routine use, but often ineffective because of drug resistance. So, for the foreseeable future, the emphasis has to be on malaria prevention. This is where the bednets come in – ideally, these need to be LLINs which can withstand the rigours of daily family life in rural African communities. The key is to ensure that the purchasers of these nets – principally African governments, aid agencies and other NGOs – can distribute them as quickly as possible to the people who need them most. This is precisely the issue that has been addressed by an unprecedented joint venture between the Japanese giant Sumitomo Chemical, and A to Z Textiles, based in Arusha, Tanzania.
Sumito are the creators of the ‘Olyset’ net – the first LLIN to pass the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme. Olyset is a remarkable product: it is guaranteed to last at least five years; it never needs retreatment; its polythene technology makes it virtually tear-proof; it can be washed up to 20 times and still remain effective; its control-release technology enables the non-toxic insecticide to be contained within the fibre, not coated on the outside; it has a quadruple insecticide effect on mosquitoes – bite inhibition, repellency, knockdown and kill.
In 2003 Sumitomo teamed up with the Acumen Fund (a non-profit global venture fund) and others to find an African partner to manufacture Olyset. Out of a number of potential producers, A to Z was selected. Sumitomo transferred to A to Z, on a royalty-free basis, the technology behind Olyset – with Acumen providing an interest-free loan to A to Z so the company could buy the necessary machinery and manage the project in its plant in Arusha.
Sumitomo is a multinational which subscribes to the tenet that – alongside commercial considerations – its activities should make a lasting contribution to the public good in the communities in which it operates. The company has made a commitment to ensure that Olyset is available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible cost.
Olyset production started in 2004 in A to Z’s original factory but it soon became clear that the first year’s production figures – approximately half a million nets – could expand dramatically. Which is how in February, Tanzania’s Vice President Dr Ali Mohammed Shein came to preside over the dedication of the new purpose-built Sumitomo/A to Z Olyset net factory – which has brought production capacity to over 10 million nets a year.
The new factory is bringing a second benefit – jobs. The plant is now one of Tanzania’s largest employers with approximately 3,200 staff, mostly women. Each job is supporting an average of six family members. Margaret Mambo’s family, for instance, has managed to net both benefits. She has worked for A to Z for five years and is now a supervisor. “My job lets me take care of my children and educate them”, she says. “It will allow my children to have even better careers.” And she knows first hand the value of the product she is helping to make: “I and my family sleep under Olyset nets, and I encourage neighbours to do it too. If you sleep under an Olyset net you are not bitten by mosquitoes. I have been almost six years sleeping under the net and have had no problems with malaria in that time.”
Sumitomo is establishing separate net ‘sewing’ operations in Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique. It wants to see African manufacturing done by Africans and for Africans. Dr Awa Marie Coll-Seck, Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership – an international partnership of governments and agencies – is clear about the benefits of the nets and the Sumitomo/A to Z collaboration. “Long lasting insecticide nets are a vital tool in the fight against malaria. We are delighted to see such a huge expansion of local production capacity in Tanzania. The transfer of this technology to Africa has reaped tremendous results and shows how innovative partnerships can produce sustainable benefits for public health.”
MORE INFORMATION
www.sumivector.com