Nigeria has taken another step toward strengthening local healthcare manufacturing with the commencement of commercial production of Synera DuoForte, a next-generation insecticide-treated mosquito net designed to help combat malaria in areas where mosquitoes have developed resistance to conventional insecticides.
Harvestfield Healthcare FZE began commercial operations at its manufacturing facility in the Harvestfield Free Trade Zone, Ogun State, on September 13, 2026.
The facility is already supplying a World Bank-funded malaria programme operating across 31 states, marking a significant expansion of Nigeria’s domestic capacity to produce an important malaria prevention tool.
Nigeria’s First Wholly Nigerian-Owned Facility of Its Kind
The Ogun State facility is the first of its kind in Nigeria to be wholly Nigerian-owned and produces long-lasting insecticidal nets containing two active ingredients from the pyrethroid-chlorfenapyr class.
Harvestfield manufactures Synera DuoForte under a manufacturing agreement with GDM Health Products, which developed and owns the dual-active-ingredient net.
The technology is different from conventional insecticide-treated nets, which rely primarily on pyrethroids.
Synera DuoForte combines a pyrethroid with a second insecticide that works through a different mode of action. The approach is particularly relevant as mosquito populations in many parts of Nigeria have developed resistance to pyrethroid insecticides.
While conventional nets can still provide a physical barrier against mosquitoes, insecticide resistance can reduce their ability to kill or repel resistant mosquitoes.
Dual-active-ingredient nets are designed to address this challenge and are recommended by the World Health Organisation for areas where pyrethroid resistance has been established.
WHO-Prequalified Manufacturing Facility
Synera DuoForte is a WHO-prequalified product, with GDM Health Products holding the product’s prequalification.
The Harvestfield facility in Ogun State is also listed as an approved manufacturing location under the product’s prequalification.
In addition, the factory is certified by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and holds ISO certification.
These approvals and quality standards provide the foundation for manufacturing nets for national malaria programmes and other health interventions that require internationally recognised production systems.
Jon Bastow, a representative of GDM Health Products, said the company was pleased to partner with Harvestfield to bring Synera DuoForte into local production.
“GDM is pleased to strategically partner with Harvestfield to bring Synera DuoForte to Nigeria, the country with the biggest global malaria burden, and support the prequalification of Harvestfield’s Ogun State manufacturing facility to make Synera DuoForte,” he said.
Health Minister: Local Production Is Critical to Health Security
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, described the development as an important step in building Nigeria’s domestic health manufacturing capacity.
“Building the capacity to manufacture our own health products is central to Nigeria’s health security,” Pate said.
He added that a Nigerian facility producing next-generation insecticide-treated nets to international standards and already supplying programmes across 31 states represented the type of domestic capability the government’s Renewed Hope agenda aims to develop.
Harvestfield Moves From Distribution to Manufacturing
For Harvestfield, the start of local production builds on more than two decades of experience in Nigeria’s vector-control industry.
The Harvestfield group has operated in the Nigerian vector-control sector for 26 years and has delivered more than 42 million insecticide-treated nets across all 36 states.
Since 2018, the company has also served as an exclusive national distribution partner for WHO-prequalified insecticide-treated nets.
The transition from distribution to manufacturing gives Harvestfield a larger role in Nigeria’s malaria-control supply chain.
Local production could reduce the country’s reliance on overseas manufacturing schedules and the 45-to-60-day ocean shipping period associated with imported nets.
It also gives programmes greater flexibility to respond to changing malaria-control requirements and shifts in insecticide resistance.
Local Manufacturing Could Strengthen Nigeria’s Healthcare Supply Chain
The new factory is expected to contribute beyond the production of mosquito nets by developing local expertise in manufacturing, technical operations, quality control and regulatory compliance.
Dr Abdul Mukhtar of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) said the development aligned with the initiative’s objective of moving Nigeria away from heavy reliance on imported health products.
“PVAC exists to move Nigeria from importing its health products to making them,” Mukhtar said.
He noted that the presence of a factory alone was not sufficient, stressing the importance of meeting internationally accepted standards and having the capacity to supply products at national scale.
“A facility based in Nigeria doing both is precisely the outcome this initiative was created to unlock,” he said.
Beyond Malaria Nets
For Harvestfield, the Ogun State factory is being positioned as more than a single-product manufacturing operation.
The investment creates local capacity in manufacturing, technical expertise, quality assurance and regulatory processes that could support the production of additional healthcare products in the future.
The facility therefore represents an initial platform in the company’s broader effort to expand healthcare manufacturing capabilities in Nigeria.
The development also aligns with the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen domestic production of healthcare products under the Renewed Hope health agenda, the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) and the Nigeria First procurement policy.
With commercial production now underway and supplies already reaching malaria programmes across 31 states, the Harvestfield facility represents a further shift toward producing critical health interventions within Nigeria rather than depending primarily on imported supplies.
