Nothing But Nets

FAQ: Bed Nets

• The nets purchased and distributed by Nothing But Nets™ are long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLINs) that have been approved by the UN World Health Organization (WHO) for safety, quality, and efficacy.
  
• The five companies that are currently producing these WHO-approved nets include: Vestergaard-Frandsen, Sumitomo Chemical, A to Z Textiles, Woinu Curtain Trade, and BASF.
  
• Vestergaard-Frandsen, a Dutch company, produces a LLIN called “Permanet.”
  
• Sumitomo Chemical, a company based in Japan, produces a LLIN called “Olyset Net.” 
  
• In 2003, Sumitomo granted a Tanzanian-based manufacturing company, A to Z Textiles, the right to manufacture the Olyset Net in their country. The 50/50 venture created more than 4,000 jobs and is now producing 20 million Olyset Nets per year – approximately 50 percent of global Olyset Net production occurs in Africa.
  
• After its success with A to Z Textiles, Sumitomo partnered with an A to Z branch in September 2005 to form Vector Health International Limited, a joint venture in Tanzania that is currently expanding to employ over 6,000 people and produce more than 9.9 million nets per year. This capacity expansion will bring the total annual number of Olyset Nets manufactured in Tanzania to nearly 30 million nets.
  
• As part of its commitment to ensuring that Olyset is “made in Africa, by Africans, for Africans,” Sumitomo Chemical has also established a net sewing operation in Ethiopia. Operated by the Ethiopian textiles business Woinu Curtain Trade, the facility produces nearly three million nets per year and employs more than 300 people.
  
• Sumitomo Chemical has also recently committed to establishing a Nigeria-based factory.
  
• BASF, a German company, produces a LLIN called “Interceptor.”
  
• Permanet, Olyset Net and the Interceptor net are the only three brands of LLINs that meet the quality and safety standards set by WHO.
  
• The materials used and the type of long-lasting insecticide woven into Permanets, Olyset Nets and Interceptor nets have been rigorously tested for safety and efficacy and approved under strict standards. These standards ensure that the children and families sleeping under these bed nets won’t get sick from the insecticide woven into the fabric of the net. Families that receive these specific nets, through campaigns like Nothing But Nets™, can be assured that their net will effectively protect them against deadly, malaria-carrying mosquitoes for up to 4 to 5 years.
  
• While Permanet, Olyset Net and Interceptor are currently the only three major brands of LLINs that meet the quality and safety standards set by WHO, there are several producers of LLINs that are awaiting WHO approval. 

Buzzkill Facts

Each year, malaria afflicts approximately a half-billion people (roughly the population of the United States, Canada, and Mexico combined).

• Malaria kills more than a million people per year; 90 percent of those who die are African children.
• Every 30 seconds in Africa a child dies of malaria.
• Malaria incapacitates people, keeping countries poor. In addition to the health burden, malaria illness and death cost Africa about $12 billion per year.