Company pumps Sh1bn into making anti-mosquito paint

Eighteen months after Kansai Plascon launched in the Ugandan market, the paint manufacturer has introduced what it says is a mosquito-repellent paint.

The firm, which first launched the product in Africa in October, says the move is part of efforts to eliminate Uganda’s long-standing malaria problem.

“The technology works by disrupting the mosquito’s nervous system on contact, reducing its ability to remain on painted walls or fly too far away, resulting in it being knocked down.

“The effect lasts for up to two years, offering lasting protection from malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases,” said Kansai Plascon vice president Kalpana Abe at a press conference in Kampala yesterday. The firm, which also has a presence in Kenya, says it invested $10 million (about Sh1 billion) in production and targets to sell 60,000 litres in three months in Uganda.

Four litres of the insecticide paint costs Ushs80,000 (Ksh2,180).

Being a public health product, Plascon says its biggest target customer is governments. The company plans to ensure the widest reach for the paint.

“Only the government can reach high prevalence low-income regions. I believe that governments want to deal with that aspect.

“They would be my biggest market, followed by the commercial industry,” Ms Abe said.

Uganda accounts for four per cent of the world’s total malaria cases, ranking among the top five countries responsible for nearly half of all incidences of the disease worldwide.

The country is also listed among those in which total malaria cases exceeded 300,000 per year with an estimated death rate of three per cent.

The firm says the idea to formulate anti-malarial paint came from its staff in 2011.

After looking into the rationale and a production cost estimate, the company realised the paint could be the solution to Africa’s long-standing malaria problem, Ms Abe said.