US Aid Mosquito Net Factory

Our next excursion took our group to a fascinating and very important visit – the A to Z US Aid mosquito net factory. Prior to this trip I had heard of malaria – I am taking preventative pills as we speak! I also knew that while we had eradicated malaria in most of the western world, it continued to be a problem in Africa and many parts of Asia. What I did not understand (and I suspect many other people do not as well) is how greatly malaria has impacted the economy. The problem is not so uncomplicated as to think the only tragedy of malaria is that people die from it (although they do – a child dies of malaria every 30 seconds in Africa), but that people become so sick they are unable to go to work. This in turn affects their families, which in turn affects their communities, which in turn affects the whole country’s economy. It is estimated that Africa loses 12 billion in US dollars of GDP each year due to malaria. On average a child who contracts malaria will lose about 6 weeks of school.

Fortunately A to Z net factory is doing a lot to reverse these statistics. Their nets, the Olyset Nets, are the first World Health Organization recommended net to be manufactured in Africa. They began manufacturing nets in 2003 and by 2009 were making more than 29 million nets a year – that’s more than half of the global Olyset Net output! The nets use a time – released insecticide that makes the nets good for at least 5 years. Not only is the company focusing on health responsibility, the company maintains a focus on socially responsibility as well. Their motto is Africans for Africa. They employ more than 5,000 local people and provide those employees with many benefits included health and housing. For more information about this important project and malaria you can visit www.olyset.net