Six companies, including some from Rwanda, have expressed interest in setting up a plant to produce medicated mosquito bed nets to be distributed in the country, a senior official in the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) has said.

Alex Ruzibukira, the director-general of industry and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) at MINICOM, said the development follows a call for expression of interest calling for companies to bid for the establishment of a plant that will manufacture the mosquito nets.

Rwanda imports millions of treated mosquito bed nets – known as LLINs – annually. The nets are distributed to households across the country to help curb malaria.

Ruzibukira told The New Times last week that the rationale of setting up the plant is within the framework of Made-in-Rwanda campaign, adding that the plan is to have the plant set up in a dedicated industrial area.

"We are at the stage of tendering, after that we are going to issue a request for proposals, then we will choose who to set up the plant manufacturing mosquito nets in Rwanda,” he said.

Ruzibukira said, by the end of the month, MINICOM will have awarded the tender for the manufacture of mosquito nets in the country.

Malaria is a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. It causes around one million deaths per year and is the leading cause of death in children under five years.

The World Health Organisation estimates that a majority of Rwandans are at risk of contracting malaria, and the disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Rwanda.

According to Ruzibukira, locally-made mosquito bed nets will be much more affordable than imported ones.

Why the plant is necessary

According to the document calling for expression of interest, the Government also wishes to benefit from the additional advantages a local producer could provide, including the timely resolution of quality control issues relating to substandard mosquito LLINs nets, availability of high-quality and required LLINs as needed, as well as the health benefits of the use of LLINs in the fight against malaria.

Last year, the Ministry of Health attributed, in part, the increase in the malaria cases to a consignment of 2.6 million substandard mosquito nets, worth about Rwf9 billion it had imported.

They nets were procured in 2013 from Denmark-based firm, Netprotect. A mosquito net cost $5 (about Rwf3,500) before taxes.

Malaria cases increased from 514,173 cases in 2012 to 1,957,402 in December last year.

The Government, though Rwanda Biomedical Centre, promotes universal coverage of LLINs, defined as one net for every two people (one LLIN per 1.8 person as defined by WHO’s Roll Back Malaria campaign).

To implement this programme, between 2009 and 2013, Rwanda imported, on average, $17.2 million worth of nets annually.

According to figures from the Rwanda Malaria Contingency Plan December 2015, the total projected needed LLINs for the coming five years in Rwanda are over 24.89 million.

So far, around 83 per cent of Rwandan households have treated mosquito nets, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.

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