Global leaders gathered in Arusha, Tanzania on Wednesday 17 November for the launch of the Olyset® Net at A to Z Textile Mills—the first factory in Africa to produce this long-lasting insecticidal mosquito net—agreed that conditions were right for a massive scale-up in the battle against malaria.

The President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Benjamin W. Mkapa, delivered a message of hope to a group of dignitaries including US Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, Roll Back Malaria Partnership Executive Secretary Awa Marie Coll-Seck, and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Executive Director Richard Feachem, as well as representatives from the Acumen Fund, ExxonMobil, PSI, Sumitomo, UNICEF and WHO who had made the A to Z technology transfer possible

"Long-lasting insecticidal nets are Africa's best hope for preventing malaria, and we are very proud that Tanzania is the home of Africa's first manufacturer of these nets," said President Mkapa. "We hope that this shining example of technology transfer and strengthening of local industry will serve as a model for similar efforts, making the nets more affordable and available to the millions of Africans who need them."

Read the full RBM Partnership Press Release

SPEECHES FROM THE 17 NOVEMBER EVENT

"This long lasting insecticidal net is special because it represents the power of a unique partnership." - Dr Awa Marie Coll-Seck, Executive Secretary of the RBM Partnership Read the full speech	"The Global Fund is working to finance a total of 108 million bed nets. And within the next five years, we expect to have financed 40 million of them." Dr Tommy Thompson, Chairman of the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria Read the full speech	"I therefore call upon Tanzanian citizens and all the people in the African continent and the world as a whole to fight against malaria for the sake of the present and future generation." Bakari Abubakar, grade 5 student from Tanzania Read the full speech

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS

• About long-lasting insecticidal nets. About the A to Z technology transfer to Tanzania
  [Roll Back Malaria Partnership Background Note]
• A to Z and the Olyset® Technology Transfer
  [A to Z Textiles Background Note]
• WHO Contribution in the transfer of Olyset technology to Africa
  [WHO Background Note]
• Controlling Malaria in Africa — UNICEF's Key Actions
  [UNICEF Background Note]
• Acumen Fund’s Investment in A to Z: Olyset Long-Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets (LLITNs)
  [Acumen Fund Background Note]
• ExxonMobil's Role in the Partnership
  [ExxonMobil Background Note]
• Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd and the Olyset® net
  [Sumitomo Chemical Background Note]

PHOTO GALLERY
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