Owing to their impact on reducing mosquito nuisance, morbidity and
mortality due to malaria, insecticide treated bednets are promoted to
be used at household level and in schools, military camps, health
facility wards, and guest houses. Nevertheless, the large-scale use of
such materials is constrained by demand and supply factors. The
contemporary debate is that people might be willing to pay for bednets
but their short supply could constrain their actual use. Also it is
concerned that supplying bednets in the market is one thing but whether
people are prepared to purchase them is another thing since the actual
uptake of bednets is determined by personal or household's disposable
income, and their prices, their shapes and sizes as well as people's
attitudes. This paper reports on a study of willingness to pay (WTP)
for Olyset bednets among formal employees and villagers predominantly
engaged in subsistence farming in Korogwe and Muheza districts in
Tanzania. Generally, the study found that, fixing a price of Tshs.
3,500 or more per one bednet to be paid at once is practically
undesirable to many peasants even if the majority of them might have
had stated their WTP that price. On the other hand, allowing
prepayments or payments by instalments has the advantage of promoting
sales and utilization of bednets among formal and informal employees.
The study recommends demand creation mechanisms like social marketing
towards changing public perceptions and attitudes for better
utilization of bednets
