SC Johnson starts production of mosquito repellents in Nairobi

Spatial repellents work by releasing chemicals into the air to prevent mosquitoes from biting humans within a given space –thus helping to prevent disease transmission.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

American consumer goods manufacturer SC Johnson has opened a new mosquito repellent manufacturing line in Nairobi, eyeing demand boost from a potential recommendation of the products by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Africa suffers 94 percent of malaria cases and 95 percent of malaria deaths, with children under five being the most vulnerable to mosquito bites.

Kenya had 3.29 million cases of malaria in 2023, according to WHO.

“We are months away from receiving a policy recommendation from the World Health Organisation where we can get this new tool in the hands of millions of people,” SC Johnson’s chairman and CEO, Herbert Fisk Johnson III, wrote on his Linkedin page.

“We just reached a key milestone and opened high-speed manufacturing of this new tool at our site in Kenya. We’ll produce 20 million units a year, and this is only the beginning.”

The multinational had announced a $10 million investment in the spatial repellent line in Nairobi in April 2023.

Spatial repellents work by releasing chemicals into the air to prevent mosquitoes from biting humans within a given space –thus helping to prevent disease transmission.

They can be used as a repellent or a method for killing mosquitoes.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that Kenya has reduced the burden of malaria by at least 50 percent over the last decade.

Kenya has been pushing for the uptake of malaria vaccines as one of the tools in the fight against the disease.

These include Baygon and Raid insecticides.

“We are pleased that SC Johnson is demonstrating its commitment to building Africa’s manufacturing capacity and supporting long-term health security, by transferring the requisite technology to manufacture Guardian spatial repellents in Kenya," Anthony Okara, an ambassador at the African Leaders Malaria Alliance, said in a statement.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that Kenya has been able to reduce the burden of malaria by at least 50 percent over the last decade, from a prevalence rate of 11 percent in 2010 to six percent in 2020.

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