Angola: First mosquito net factory to produce 2 million units per year

NOVEMBER 20TH, 2007    NEWS

Luanda, Angola, 20 Nov – Angola’s first mosquito net factory, a project budgeted to cost US$5 million, will be built in Benguela, one of the project’s promoters, Paulo Louro said in Luanda Monday.

Speaking to Portuguese news agency Lusa, Louro said that the factory, which was due to go into operation in December 2008, would produce up to 2 million nets per year.

Louro said that December 2008 was the target for starting to produce long-lasting impregnated mosquito nets, with the quality demanded by the World Health organization (WHO), which says that mosquito nets are the most efficient method of fighting malaria, the biggest cause of death amongst under-5s in Africa.

Milton Saraiva, of the National Fight Against Malaria Program, said that construction of the factory was very important as it would provide the population with easy access to mosquito nets.

“As well as making access to nets easier, construction of this factory will make it possible to lower the price to around US$5 per unit, as compared with US$9 at the moment,” Saraiva said. (macauhub)