March 27, 2006

Sumitomo Chemical donates ‘Olyset’ Nets to Africa’s‘Millennium Villages’

Sumitomo Chemical (SCC) will be donating over 330,000 Olyset® anti-malaria bed nets –worth around $2 million – to the Millennium Villages in sub-Saharan Africa. One
hundred villages (individual population c. 5,000) in 10 African countries will receive theOlyset nets, enabling at least half a million people to be protected from exposure tomalaria.
Millennium Villages are at the heart of Millennium Promise (MP), a non-profit
organisation focused on the eradication of extreme poverty. MP draws on partnerships,alliances and action planning to facilitate the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals in the world’s poorest countries. The rationale for the creation of Millennium
Villages is to help individual communities escape poverty by providing them with thepractical and affordable solutions needed to become self-sufficient and achieve the longterm sustained economic development that will spell the end of poverty in their lives.
Tackling the scourge of malaria is fundamental to MP’s agenda.
SCC’s Olyset is a long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) recommended by the World HealthOrganisation. It never needs chemical treatment by the user and is the only long-lasting
bed net guaranteed to last for at least five years. Olyset is based on a revolutionary slowrelease technology, where the control agent is incorporated within the fibres of the net
itself. The net is fiercely tear-resistant and wash-proof, and is effective as soon as it isinstalled.
SCC conducts its Olyset business in line with its ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ insupplying nets to the developing world. SCC is committed to making Olyset available tothose who need it most at the lowest possible cost. To that end, in 2003, SCC transferred
the technology for manufacturing Olyset– with a no-fee license – to an independent
manufacturer in Africa. More recently, SCC entered into a ground-breaking joint venture
partnership that involves the construction of a major manufacturing facility in Tanzania.
The factory, which will open later in 2006, will cause total production of Olyset inTanzania to increase to seven million nets annually.
“Millennium Promise is an exciting and innovative project and we are very proud to be
associated with it,” commented Hiromasa Yonekura, President of SCC. “Our deep
corporate social commitment to assist the global fight against malaria is fully in line with
the noble goals of Millennium Promise.”
Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and cochairman of the Millennium Promise, added: “The longevity and Sumitomo guaranteethat comes with Olyset provides real hope that the families who receive them will beprotected from malaria for many years to come. Having Sumitomo and its Olyset
technology on board is integral to our strategy in tackling malaria head on to improve thequality of life in Africa and help break the vicious circle of poverty.”
For further information, please contact:
Flagship Consulting

Tel. +44 (0)20 7886 8440

Simon Walsh, Adrian King, Jackie Murphy
firstname.lastname@flagshipconsulting.co.uk

Notes to Editors
1.

Millennium Promise is initially focusing on two campaigns:• Millennium Villages – an integrated community-led development strategy to end extreme rural
poverty based on the MDGs.
• Quick Win Against Malaria – complementing the Villages effort, this will see the distributionof tens of millions of anti-malaria bed nets to control the disease2.

The first twelve Millennium Villages are:• Potou, Senegal• Segou, Mali
• Bonsaaso, Ghana• Kaduna, Nigeria• Ikaram-ibaram, Nigeria (ondo stat)• Ruhlira, Uganda• Mayange, Rwanda• Koraro, Ethiopia• Ngurunit, Kenya• Sauri, Kenya• Mbola, Tanzania• Mwandama, Malawi

3.

The Olyset® Net – key facts:• toughness – Olyset is tear-resistant and washproof;• no need for retreatment – the insecticide remains effective for a minimum of five years;• improved ventilation – Olyset’s large mesh allows for better ventilation but has no negative
effect on the number of mosquitoes controlled or repelled by the insecticide film;• safety – Olyset’s mosquito repellent is based on permethrin, a widely used, long acting
synthetic pyrethroid. Permethrin has a proven safety record; it has low mammalian toxicity
and there is no irritancy to users;• user and environment-friendly – because no retreatment is needed, people do not have tohandle insecticide concentrate kits;• cost-effectiveness – because Olyset doesn’t need retreatment, there are significant cost savingsin distribution, training and maintenance.

4.

The World Health Organisation recommends Olyset and other products through WHOPES (WorldHealth Organisation Pesticides Evaluation Scheme – www.who.int/whopes

5.

www.sumivector.com

6.

www.millenniumpromise.org