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Africa's largest long-lasting insecticide-treated net producer: lessons from A to Z Textiles

BACKGROUND: Field trials have demonstrated the efficacy of insecticide-treated nets, and the WHO has recently endorsed a shift toward Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated nets (LLINs) due to factors such as reduced distribution costs. However, the need for LLINs poses several challenges. Is it possible...

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Autores principales: Masum, Hassan, Shah, Ronak, Schroeder, Karl, Daar, Abdallah S, Singer, Peter A
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BioMed Central 2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001614/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21144077
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-698X-10-S1-S6
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author Masum, Hassan
Shah, Ronak
Schroeder, Karl
Daar, Abdallah S
Singer, Peter A
author_facet Masum, Hassan
Shah, Ronak
Schroeder, Karl
Daar, Abdallah S
Singer, Peter A
author_sort Masum, Hassan
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Field trials have demonstrated the efficacy of insecticide-treated nets, and the WHO has recently endorsed a shift toward Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated nets (LLINs) due to factors such as reduced distribution costs. However, the need for LLINs poses several challenges. Is it possible to manufacture LLINs in large quantities in the African continent, where malaria is most endemic? When production is located in low-income countries, what role is played by local funding and employment, scaling up manufacturing, and partnerships? What factors influence availability and pricing? DISCUSSION: A case study of A to Z Textiles was undertaken to answer the question of how large-scale production of LLINs can occur in a low income setting. One of the largest sources of bed nets for Africa, A to Z Textiles is Africa-based, and its Tanzanian operations have a production capacity of 30 million LLINs per year, along with full WHO recommendation for its nets. Our analysis is based on semi-structured interviews with key informants familiar with A to Z, site visits in Tanzania, and literature reviews. This paper discusses the history and current status of A to Z Textiles, identifies the factors that led to its success, and suggests policy considerations that could support similar initiatives in the future. Local funding, scaling up manufacturing, technology transfer, and partnerships all played important roles in A to Z’s ascent, as did perceived benefits of local employment and capacity-building. Regulatory issues and procurement rules acted as barriers. A to Z cost-effectively manufactures high-quality LLINs where malaria is most endemic. SUMMARY: With a production capacity of 30 million LLINs per year, and full WHOPES (WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme) certification, A to Z Textiles demonstrates how key health goods can be successfully produced in the low-income countries that use them. Its example may be instructive and of high interest to readers in the malaria community, especially in developing countries, and to those who wish to support or partner with efforts by developing countries to build their health innovation capacity.
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spelling pubmed-30016142010-12-15 Africa's largest long-lasting insecticide-treated net producer: lessons from A to Z Textiles Masum, Hassan Shah, Ronak Schroeder, Karl Daar, Abdallah S Singer, Peter A BMC Int Health Hum Rights Research BACKGROUND: Field trials have demonstrated the efficacy of insecticide-treated nets, and the WHO has recently endorsed a shift toward Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated nets (LLINs) due to factors such as reduced distribution costs. However, the need for LLINs poses several challenges. Is it possible to manufacture LLINs in large quantities in the African continent, where malaria is most endemic? When production is located in low-income countries, what role is played by local funding and employment, scaling up manufacturing, and partnerships? What factors influence availability and pricing? DISCUSSION: A case study of A to Z Textiles was undertaken to answer the question of how large-scale production of LLINs can occur in a low income setting. One of the largest sources of bed nets for Africa, A to Z Textiles is Africa-based, and its Tanzanian operations have a production capacity of 30 million LLINs per year, along with full WHO recommendation for its nets. Our analysis is based on semi-structured interviews with key informants familiar with A to Z, site visits in Tanzania, and literature reviews. This paper discusses the history and current status of A to Z Textiles, identifies the factors that led to its success, and suggests policy considerations that could support similar initiatives in the future. Local funding, scaling up manufacturing, technology transfer, and partnerships all played important roles in A to Z’s ascent, as did perceived benefits of local employment and capacity-building. Regulatory issues and procurement rules acted as barriers. A to Z cost-effectively manufactures high-quality LLINs where malaria is most endemic. SUMMARY: With a production capacity of 30 million LLINs per year, and full WHOPES (WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme) certification, A to Z Textiles demonstrates how key health goods can be successfully produced in the low-income countries that use them. Its example may be instructive and of high interest to readers in the malaria community, especially in developing countries, and to those who wish to support or partner with efforts by developing countries to build their health innovation capacity. BioMed Central 2010-12-13 /pmc/articles/PMC3001614/ /pubmed/21144077 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-698X-10-S1-S6 Text en Copyright ©2010 Masum et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research
Masum, Hassan
Shah, Ronak
Schroeder, Karl
Daar, Abdallah S
Singer, Peter A
Africa's largest long-lasting insecticide-treated net producer: lessons from A to Z Textiles
title Africa's largest long-lasting insecticide-treated net producer: lessons from A to Z Textiles
title_full Africa's largest long-lasting insecticide-treated net producer: lessons from A to Z Textiles
title_fullStr Africa's largest long-lasting insecticide-treated net producer: lessons from A to Z Textiles
title_full_unstemmed Africa's largest long-lasting insecticide-treated net producer: lessons from A to Z Textiles
title_short Africa's largest long-lasting insecticide-treated net producer: lessons from A to Z Textiles
title_sort africa's largest long-lasting insecticide-treated net producer: lessons from a to z textiles
topic Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001614/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21144077
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-698X-10-S1-S6
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