Panafrican News Agency. AllAfrica.com.
November 8, 2000. Maputo
Cuban government has pledged to provide Mozambique with the necessary
technology for the manufacturing of an anti-malaria chemical product, Grislet,
to help stem the spread of the tropical scourge in the country.
Pedro Gonzalez, Cuban ambassador in Maputo said experts from both countries
have tested and found Grislet to be effective against malaria, which kills more
than one million people annually in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The product is directly applied to stagnant waters where mosquitoes breed,
and is said to have a 100-percent efficacy and also environmentally friendly.
"All the mosquito larvae died during the experiment that was conducted
in Mozambique, and this product does not affect other species. If inadvertently
children, or even chickens, drink the water, they don't die," Gonzalez
said.
It is hoped that the chemical could be available soon on the Mozambican
market. But it must be registered in Mozambique, after which the Cubans "wish
to make some offers so that Grislet can be manufactured in the country by
Mozambican businessmen".
The envoy said the Cuban government is ready to provide a well-equipped
laboratory for the manufacture of the chemical which is "being used with a
lot of success in at least three Latin America countries, in Vietnam and in
Angola."
Vietnam is said to have set up a laboratory registered with the French
Pasteur Research Institute, and with the Latin American regional health
organisation.
"It's a product obtained through the development of the Cuban genetic
biotechnology, which the Cuban government wants to offer Mozambique, as a means
to support the struggle against malaria," Gonzalez said, adding "we're
aware of the great damage that the disease causes to our African brothers".
If Grislet is approved by the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry,
Mozambique will have three anti-malaria tools.
The other two are the spraying of homes with insecticide, and the use of
mosquito nets impregnated with insecticide.
"My concern is that of a friend of Mozambique, and that we shouldn't
take too long to do these things since this is a disease that affects most of
the Mozambican population.
The rainy season is upon us, and it will result in an increase in malaria
cases. Thus, I feel this is the time to move ahead," the envoy explained.
"The only thing that motivates us is to save lives. We don't want to
bring the product in as an import from Cuba, that's not our aim. What we want is
for Mozambique to manufacture the product which has already been approved by
many countries wrestling with malaria," he added.
He expressed the hope that Mozambican businessmen would invest in the
production of Grislet, which is manufactured in Cuba by the company "Labiofarm".
Meanwhile, a source at the Agriculture Ministry confirmed that there had
been contacts between the Mozambican authorities and representatives of the
Cuban embassy on the issue.
"The contacts are continuing and things have been taken care of,"
added the source, without giving details.
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