FG commends local production of mosquito nets to strengthen malaria prevention

The federal government, weekend, commended operations by Health Textiles Nigeria FZE, a new local manufacturing facility producing next-generation insecticide-treated mosquito nets, describing the development as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen malaria prevention and local manufacturing of essential health products.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, stated this in Abuja, saying that the commencement of local production of dual-active ingredient insecticide-treated nets represents an important milestone in Nigeria’s health system and the national response to malaria.

The establishment of Health Textiles Nigeria follows a 2024 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Vestergaard and the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), aimed at strengthening local production capacity for essential health products.

Professor Pate said the development aligns with the federal government’s broader commitment to strengthening health security by building domestic capacity to manufacture essential health products, while creating jobs and strengthening the healthcare value chain.

“The commencement of local production of next-generation insecticide-treated nets is an important milestone for Nigeria’s health system and our fight against malaria. It also reflects our broader commitment to strengthening health security by building domestic capacity to manufacture the essential health products Nigerians need,” the minister said.

He added that the partnership between global expertise, Nigerian talent and local production would contribute to building a more resilient healthcare value chain, while positioning Nigeria as a competitive manufacturing hub for Africa.

The national coordinator of PVAC, Dr Abdu Mukhtar, said the commencement of production demonstrates the value of aligning investment, technology transfer and government policy to develop sustainable local manufacturing capacity.