Nigeria has commenced local production of insecticide-treated mosquito nets as part of efforts to strengthen malaria prevention and reduce reliance on imported health products.
The new facility, Health Textiles Nigeria FZE, is the first in the country to manufacture dual-active ingredient insecticide-treated nets, according to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
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The ministry announced the development in a press release posted on its X account on Thursday and signed by its Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations, Ado Bako.
The facility, owned by Vestergaard Sarl, will produce “PermaNet® Dual,” a mosquito net designed to address the growing challenge of insecticide resistance and prequalified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2023.
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The health ministry noted that at full capacity, the facility is expected to produce about 10 million nets annually and create more than 600 jobs.
Malaria burden
The development comes as Nigeria continues to bear a substantial share of the global malaria burden.
WHO estimates that 282 million malaria cases and 610,000 deaths occurred globally in 2024, with the African Region accounting for about 95 per cent of cases and deaths.
Nigeria accounted for 31.9 per cent of malaria deaths in the African Region in 2024, according to WHO.
Malaria is transmitted through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes and remains preventable and curable. WHO identifies insecticide-treated mosquito nets as one of the key tools for preventing mosquito bites and reducing malaria transmission.
New facility targets resistance
According to the ministry, the new facility is intended to strengthen Nigeria’s ability to produce essential malaria prevention commodities locally while addressing the growing challenge of resistance to insecticides.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said the investment aligns with the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII), particularly its focus on strengthening the country’s healthcare value chain through investment, local production and domestic capacity.
“This investment demonstrates what is possible when government policy, private-sector investment and technology transfer come together to unlock Nigeria’s healthcare value chain,” Mr Pate said.
He said the commencement of local production would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to manufacture essential health products and contribute to a more resilient health system.
“About 80 employees have already been recruited and are undergoing training in manufacturing excellence, product quality, occupational health and safety, and regulatory compliance,” the ministry added.
According to the ministry, the establishment of the facility follows a 2024 Memorandum of Understanding between Vestergaard and the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), aimed at strengthening local production capacity for essential health products.
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Benefits of facility
The National Coordinator of PVAC, Abdu Mukhtar, said the development demonstrates how investment, technology transfer and government policy can translate into productive capacity and skills development.
He said the training of Nigerian professionals and commencement of production represented the kind of outcome the initiative seeks to replicate across other areas of the healthcare value chain.
Vestergaard’s Chief Executive Officer, Amar Ali, said the company was pleased to commence production in Nigeria and thanked the federal government for its support.
Mr Ali said the facility would combine Vestergaard’s manufacturing expertise with “Nigerian talent to produce dual-active ingredient insecticide-treated nets locally.”
The ministry said the first commercial orders from the facility are expected to be fulfilled in the coming months.
It said domestic production would help expand Nigeria’s capacity to manufacture a critical malaria prevention commodity while strengthening the country’s healthcare value chain.
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