Health; Local Government ministries for joint ‘biolarvicide’ malaria-fighting action

NELLY MTEMA

Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu

THE Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu, has promised to meet with the minister responsible for local government to chart out the best modalities on how municipal councils could set budgets for biolarvicides to eradicate malaria.

She made the promise in Kibaha yesterday when the visiting Cuban Vice-President, Mr Salvador Valdes Mesa, visited the Tanzania Biotech Product Limited. Ms Mwalimu said the factory, which will start manufacturing by the end of this week, will help reduce the cost of malaria treatment.

“Now that the factory has started manufacturing, I will meet with the Minister for Regional Administration and Local Government to see how best the municipal councils in the country will set budgets for spraying of the biolarvicides to mosquito larvae and in so doing wipe out malaria in the country.

Biolarvicides, based on mosquitocidal toxins of certain strains of Bacillus sphaericus and Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis H-14 (Bti) are highly effective against mosquito larvae at very low doses and safe to other non-target organisms.

Ms Mwalimu said the biolarvicides will be sprayed into all stagnant water ponds at all residential areas and non-residential settings to attack the lifecycle of malaria vector at the larvae stage; hence the factory will greatly enhance antimalaria drive in the country.

Ms Mwalimu said the government was spending a lot of money in the anti-malaria campaigns, treatment and mosquito nets whereas once the biolarvicides will be sprayed as needed, the country will be free of malaria in the near future as it was the case with Cuba.

However, she said, the factory should think of looking for market in other African countries as the government will be purchasing only 2.5 million litres a year.

A state-of-art biolarvicides factory that promises to wipe out the deadly malaria in the country was constructed by a Cuban firm, Entrepreneurial Group Biological and Pharmaceutical Laboratories (LABIOFAM), following former President Jakaya Kikwete’s state visit to Cuba in 2009, after which he assigned the National Development Corporation (NDC) to undertake the task.

On his part, the Cuban Vice-President pledged that they will support Tanzania to look for market of the products in other African countries as the factory is the only one in Africa.

He said apart from the health benefit that the factory will bring with it; it would also create employment opportunities as more than 150 people will be employed. On his part, the NDC board Chairman, Dr Samuel Nyantahe, announced the factory will start production by the end of this week as they have received fund from social security firms, which have invested more than 4bn/-.

He said they aim to tap the Africa market, saying being the only manufacturer of the product with the state-of-the-art technology, “we naturally stand a big chance of using that opportunity for the country’s economic development.

The board chairman said that the idea behind the factory was to support the government determination to wipe out malaria in the country, adding that the factory will, therefore, provide a lasting solution to the ever-increasing magnitude of the deadly tropical disease.