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.
