Public Health Minister, Andre Mama Fouda, on June 15, 2011 assembled all ten Regional Governors in Yaounde to sensitise them on the importance of the exercise to distribute about 8.7million treated mosquito bed nets to Cameroonians. The nets have been qualified as long-lasting and should therefore carry the potential of helping the masses combat an ailment that has been a real setback to development. Mathematically, with a population of about 19 million inhabitants, 8.7 million bed nets would mean a ratio of about two people per bed net, that is, all Cameroonians benefitting from the free gesture.
But to arrive at such a target, there is need for caution, which definitely goes beyond sensitising the major stakeholders. Most Cameroonians are so familiar with free gifts from the State that ended up in the markets. Out of ignorance or fear of repression, no one has dared to question such derailment. There are even political bigots who have taken advantage of free assistance from the State as propaganda material for personal promotion.
For example, cases of the management of the public investment budget abound, whereby people have been told that little or no projects were carried out in their regions whereas government made funds available at the start of the fiscal year. With the multitude of development projects that require implementation in the country, local inhabitants have hardly been in a position to say why projects earmarked for their wellbeing remain abandoned or partially carried out.
With such a background, it is imperative that communication strategies around a mega initiative such as the free distribution of treated mosquito bed nets should have the beneficiaries at the centre, especially in terms of making them understand that no financial transactions are involved. Otherwise, the objectives of the offer may not be met because, if wrongly managed, several Cameroonians would only hear about the nets as a fairy tale. Such a scenario would mean missing out on a golden opportunity to roll back malaria in Cameroon.
It would therefore not be a useless idea for the Ministry of Public Health and the Regional Governors, who are the main actors in the free distribution of long-lasting treated bed nets to organise a systematic follow up of the nets and to ensure that they reach out to at least three quarters of the population. Luckily for government, there are segments of the population that may not be in need of such offer because the conditions in such localities do not favour the survival of mosquitoes.
