TANA Netting and Sunflag sign Memorandum of Understanding

Aug. 11, 2014 - PRLog -- TANA Netting (UAE) and Sunflag (Nigeria) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a bid to create a world-class production facility in Nigeria of WHOPES recommended long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN), namely DawaPlus® 2.0. Rune Bosselmann, director of TANA Netting, says: “We are extremely proud to join forces with Sunflag. This partnership allows us to deliver on our promise to produce high quality mosquito nets locally, fight malaria, ensure effective use of aid funds and provide local employment.”

About TANA Netting & DawaPlus® 2.0
TANA Netting FZ LLC, previously known as Siam Dutch, is a producer and distributor of high quality personal protection products. The company was established in 1985 and is part of NRS International since 2012. It is headquartered in Dubai and its state-of-the art production facility is located in Lahore, Pakistan. Clients for DawaPlus®2.0 include ministries of health, national malaria control programs, NGOs, international procurement agencies and in-country distributors.

Background of technological platform
Mr. Bosselmann explains the original plan with DawaPlus was to facilitate the production of LLINs in malaria-stricken countries. “DawaPlus was a project initiated by then Siam Dutch, Netmark, Bayer and USAID to create a product and a manufacturing platform that could be deployed in Africa and thereby not only provide public health tools but also employment and empowerment for the development funds,” according to Mr. Bosselmann. “Based on the promise that technology transfer would be provided, several companies around Africa invested in production equipment to manufacture DawaPlus. Nigerian-based Sunflag, specialized in the manufacturing and selling of textiles including mosquito nets, was one of these companies.”

Local partnership and job creation
TANA Netting has always been mindful of this legacy and is looking forward to unleash its potential together with Sunflag. Mr. Bosselmann adds: “We believe our commitment and cooperation can create hundreds, possibly even thousands of jobs in the future. We know challenges await but are greatly comforted by the outstanding support provided to the project so far by Malaria Consortium and SuNMaP (funded by DfID, UK government). They have been a dedicated force in the development of Nigeria’s private market for years. Thanks to their tremendous efforts we look forward to manufacturing our product in the country.”

Pride of Nigeria
TANA Netting is looking forward to creating a world-class manufacturing facility in Lagos for DawaPlus® 2.0. “We want to help making sure that aid money that is provided for the defeat of a terrible disease reaps the greatest benefit where it is intended - in Africa. We hope this initiative will be well-received as well as supported by Nigeria and not only see our dreams come true, but also become a great pride to Nigerians.”