The Health Reform Initiative Nigeria (He-RIN) has rejected the SNG Health Agreement recently signed with the Federal Ministry of Health, describing it as deceptive, self-serving and deliberately structured to cripple existing local mosquito net manufacturers.
In a joint statement issued Wednesday by its Executive Director, Sunday Tobi, and Secretary, Abdul Musa, the civil society organisation said the deal, which created a partnership between Vestergaard and Harvestfield to form SNG Health for net supply, is a continuation of questionable procurement arrangements previously linked with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
He-RIN alleged that the agreement sidelines Nigerian-owned manufacturers, undermines national health sovereignty, and contradicts the country’s malaria control strategy despite huge investments from the Federal Government and international donors.
Quoting global statistics, the group lamented that Nigeria still carries the world’s highest malaria burden — accounting for 27 per cent of global cases and 31 per cent of malaria deaths annually — despite receiving significant funding for insecticide-treated nets, spraying, diagnostics and treatment through the Global Fund, World Bank and development partners.
The organisation accused the Ministry of Health of frustrating earlier plans for domestic production of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs), claiming that a previously approved $100 million local manufacturing initiative was halted under alleged influence from UNOPS, thereby blocking potential job creation, foreign exchange savings and industrial growth.
He-RIN further alleged conflict of interest on the part of the Minister of Health, claiming a prior alignment with Vestergaard, and accused the ministry of deliberately excluding Nigerian producers while giving preferential advantage to SNG Health. It also accused the ministry of stalling procurement processes until the agreement was concluded, and of pushing policies that favour a narrow group of suppliers without a transparent, Nigeria-specific scientific justification.
According to He-RIN, Nigeria’s epidemiological realities require varied mosquito net technologies tailored to different regions, but current policies impose a single-source model that undermines competition and weakens local capacity.
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The group recalled that local net manufacturers once placed Nigeria on the global map — including producing the world’s largest mosquito net recognised by the Guinness World Records — yet many of them remain owed by the government and are now being forced out of business.
He-RIN urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently investigate the SNG Health arrangement, halt its implementation, and compel the Ministry of Health to account for the abandoned $100 million local manufacturing initiative, insisting that strengthening domestic production aligns with the administration’s Renewed Hope health agenda and Nigeria’s long-term malaria control strategy.
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