SC Johnson and Sons to partner with Kenya in fight against malaria

The multinational manufacturer of household cleaning supplies and consumer chemicals, SC Johnson and Sons Company has expressed interest to partner with Kenya in the fight against malaria.

Speaking during a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi, Dr. Fisk Johnson, the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SC Johnson and Sons Company, shared his company’s intent to resume its purchasing of Kenya’s pyrethrum for the production of chemicals to boost the war against malaria.

SC Johnson and Sons, which has a branch in Kenya, has been one of the biggest buyers of Kenya’s pyrethrum.

The Head of State welcomed the company’s partnership, terming it a boost in the fight against malaria in Kenya and across the region.

Kenyatta added that the purchase of Kenya’s pyrethrum by SC Johnson and Sons will provide a ready market for farmers and increase their income.

The President, who is also the chairman of African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), has been at the forefront in supporting initiatives geared towards the eradication of malaria in the continent.

The government has been keen on the revival of the production of pyrethrum in the country and last year it released Sh40 million for the purchase of pyrethrum seedlings for farmers to step up production of the crop in 18 high potential counties which include Nakuru and Nyandarua.

Further, the government has ensured that the Nakuru-based Pyrethrum Processing Company is back to operation.

The meeting with the chairman and CEO of SC Johnson and Sons Company was also attended by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe and officials of the End Malaria Council led by Chairman Christopher Getonga, among others.

At a separate meeting at State House, Nairobi, President Kenyatta also held talks with the African Development Bank (AfDB) East Africa Region Director General Nnenna Nwabufo.

Their discussion centred on ways of enhancing AfDB’s support to key projects in Kenya’s development agenda.

Nwabufo was accompanied by AfDB regional sector managers Hussein Yusuf Iman who is in charge of the private sector, infrastructure and industrialization division and Alemayehu Zegeye who heads the power operations division.

Also present was the bank’s senior Water and Sanitation Office, Emily Muthoni Kilongi.