Nigeria has begun producing advanced insecticide-treated mosquito nets locally, marking a new development in the country's efforts to strengthen malaria prevention while expanding domestic manufacturing of essential healthcare products.
The facility behind the initiative, Health Textiles Nigeria FZE, is wholly owned by Vestergaard Sàrl and is the first facility in Nigeria to manufacture dual-active ingredient insecticide-treated mosquito nets.
Its production line will manufacture PermaNet Dual, a Vestergaard mosquito net developed in response to the growing problem of insecticide resistance. The product received prequalification from the World Health Organisation in 2023.
The new manufacturing capacity is expected to have a meaningful economic as well as public health impact. At full operation, the facility is projected to produce approximately 10 million nets every year and create more than 600 jobs.
So far, about 80 employees have been recruited and are being trained in manufacturing excellence, product quality, occupational health and safety, and regulatory compliance.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare announced the development in a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations, Ado Bako.
The project emerged from a 2024 Memorandum of Understanding between Vestergaard and the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, an agreement aimed at expanding Nigeria's ability to manufacture essential health products locally.
The timing is particularly important for Nigeria as the country continues to carry a substantial share of the world's malaria burden, while the effectiveness of some insecticide-based interventions is increasingly challenged by resistance.
The World Health Organisation estimates that malaria caused 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths worldwide in 2024 and the African Region accounted for the overwhelming majority of those cases and deaths.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, said the investment supports the objectives of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, which seeks to unlock opportunities across the healthcare value chain through investment, local manufacturing and stronger domestic capacity.
Pate described the development as an example of how government policy, private-sector investment and technology transfer can combine to strengthen Nigeria's healthcare industry.
He said the commencement of production would improve the country's capacity to manufacture essential health products and contribute to a more resilient health system.
Health Textiles Nigeria is expected to fulfil its first commercial orders in the coming months. Once production reaches its projected capacity, the facility will provide Nigeria with a substantial domestic source of malaria-prevention commodities while creating opportunities for employment and skills development.
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