Malaria Net Scandal Brews As He-RIN Accuses Health Ministry Af Backing Foreign Interests Over Local Industry
The Health Reform Initiative Nigeria (He-RIN) has strongly rejected the controversial SNG Health Agreement signed with the Federal Ministry of Health, describing it as deceptive, self-serving and a deliberate attempt to undermine Nigeria’s local mosquito net manufacturing industry.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, He-RIN’s Executive Director, Sunday Tobi, and Secretary, Abdul Musa, faulted the partnership between Vestergaard and Harvestfield, which resulted in the establishment of SNG Health for the supply of long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets (LLINs) in Nigeria.
The group alleged that SNG Health represents a continuation of what it described as the questionable dominance of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Nigeria’s malaria control sector.
“Available evidence shows that SNG Health was incubated by UNOPS at the instance of the Federal Ministry of Health through a Swiss company, in collaboration with the World Bank Nigeria,” the statement said, adding that the arrangement sidelines Nigerian manufacturers and weakens local capacity.
He-RIN accused the Ministry of Health of deliberately undermining local LLIN producers, linking Nigeria’s persistently high malaria burden to what it described as years of collusion between the ministry and UNOPS, predating the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Nigeria continues to bear the world’s heaviest malaria burden, accounting for approximately 27 per cent of global cases and 31 per cent of malaria-related deaths, according to the World Health Organization. An estimated 184,000 Nigerians—mostly children under five and pregnant women—die annually from the disease.
The organisation noted that these alarming figures persist despite significant spending on malaria interventions and sustained donor support. It stated that although Nigeria received over ₦1.5 billion for malaria control between 2015 and 2023, much of the funding was expended on imported mosquito nets and interventions with limited impact, citing policy inconsistency, opaque procurement processes and weak support for local manufacturing.
He-RIN recalled that a competitive bidding process concluded in 2022 had opened the door for large-scale local production of mosquito nets, including a proposed $100 million manufacturing initiative. However, it alleged that the process was abruptly halted following the inauguration of the current administration, allegedly at the prompting of UNOPS.
“Since then, there has been no meaningful investment, while mosquitoes continue to ravage communities and Nigeria remains the world’s most malaria-burdened country,” the statement said.
The group argued that the SNG Health agreement contradicts President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises local production, job creation, health system resilience and a Sector-Wide Approach to achieving Universal Health Coverage.
According to He-RIN, blocking local manufacturers from the proposed $100 million initiative deprived Nigeria of millions of jobs, significant foreign exchange savings and an opportunity to drastically reduce malaria-related deaths.
The organisation also raised concerns over alleged conflicts of interest, claiming that the Minister of Health had prior affiliations with Vestergaard and has promoted policies that favour the company while disadvantaging Nigerian-owned manufacturers. It further alleged that Vestergaard’s earlier dominance in the sector led to the collapse of more than 20 local mosquito net manufacturers across Lagos, Aba, Kano and Onitsha following the free distribution of imported LLINs, which it said destroyed the local commercial market.
He-RIN additionally alleged that tenders and malaria campaigns in World Bank-supported states were deliberately delayed until the SNG Health agreement was finalised, and that more than 25 million Global Fund-supported LLINs were channelled to a narrow group of companies without Nigeria-specific epidemiological justification.
The group warned against a “one-size-fits-all” approach to LLIN deployment, noting that mosquito species and insecticide resistance patterns vary widely across regions, making a single-net strategy scientifically flawed.
It also accused the ministry of failing to settle long-standing debts owed to local manufacturers who previously supplied mosquito nets and demonstrated Nigeria’s production capacity, including the manufacture of the world’s largest mosquito net recognised by Guinness World Records.
He-RIN called on President Tinubu to urgently intervene, suspend the SNG Health arrangement and order a full public accounting of the $100 million initiative intended to boost local mosquito net manufacturing.
“The lives of Nigerians must not be sacrificed for profit-driven arrangements,” the statement said. “The President must act in the national interest.”
