KAMPALA, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Uganda and Egypt on Thursday signed an agreement that will help protect about 15 million Ugandans against the deadly malaria disease.

Ruth Aceng, Uganda's minister of health and Tarek Sallam, Egyptian ambassador to Uganda, signed the memorandum of understanding that will establish a local production unit for larvicides that are used to kill the larva stage of mosquitoes that spread malaria.

Aceng said the production of larvicides and other health products will increase government's capacity to cover more parts of the country and also reduce the cost of importing the products.

She said the memorandum of understanding will run in northern and western part of the country protecting over 15 million people until 2020.

"Plans are underway to cover the whole country within a three-year period," she said, noting that under the agreement sponsorship and grant opportunities would be given to young scientists.

Sallam said the agreement is another great step in fighting malaria and saving lives of Ugandans.

He said Egypt is willing to have more medical cooperation with Uganda like sending medical convoys, establishing an Egyptian clinic among others.

Malaria is still the leading cause of death in Uganda, accounting for over 27 percent deaths, according to the ministry of health figures.

Using larvicides, according to the ministry, is one of the major strategies for malaria control in the country. It is one of the new interventions expected to protect and reduce malaria burden among vulnerable groups like pregnant women and children under five years of age.