José Antonio Fraga Castro, Director-general of Labiofam has told SciDev.Net that Cuba has been working to tackle malaria in Africa for the past 20 years and the country’s scientists have conducted entomological work, tested biolarvicides and have trained locals in their use.

Indicating that some African countries through the use of biolarvicide and local environmental clean-up activities have reduced Malaria cases.

"Angola, for instance, has reduced malaria incidence by 50 per cent, and some areas have seen a 70 per cent fall," said Fraga Castro. He added that, in a district of Accra, Ghana’s capital, incidence of the disease has decreased by 75 per cent. These figures came from national health reports and can be attributed to both biolarvicide use and local environmental clean-up activities.

Biolarvicides are biological products that are added to water to kill mosquitoes at the larval stage. Labiofam, a Cuban laboratory in charge of the project has been producing two biolarvicides, Bactivec and Griselesf, since the 1990s. The products currently have to be imported into Africa, but the new factories mean that the biolarvicides can now be produced on the continent.

The new centres will carry on this work and produce both Bactivec and Griselesf. The former is a quick-acting biolarvicide that kills larvae of all mosquito species, whereas the latter kills mosquito larvae more slowly and has no effect on the dengue vector.

The Cuban government will oversee the programme, and funding will come from Labiofam as well as national governments in Africa. Final figures have not yet been confirmed.

Fraga Castro said that countries will be able to sell their products to their neighbours and that Cuba will also purchase the biolarvicides.

He claimed that biological control is the most effective way to fight malaria as it prevents the birth of new mosquitoes and does not pollute the environment or pose health risks.

The 15 African delegations present at the First Labiofam International Congress, in Havana, proposed for the first time to include biological control as a means of tackling malaria.

Ghanaian health minister Benjamin Kumbour welcomed the project and said it would teach Ghana the best practices that Cuba has used to manage the disease and would deepen bilateral relations between the two countries.

He added that many traditional methods had been tried and proven unsuccessful.