The recent enthusiasm for impregnated bednets as a malaria control measure leaves unresolved the question of how to finance them. The National Impregnated Bednet Programme in The Gambia faced the question of how to obtain funds from villages to finance the cost of insecticide, but knew very little about current village fundraising for development purposes. A survey was conducted of such fundraising, and questions also asked about willingness to pay for insecticide and preferred means of paying. All 53 villages surveyed paid taxes/rates, but 34% of villages reported no voluntary fundraising. The most common reason for collecting money was for the maintenance of wells (40% of villages). Collective farming was used as a means of raising money in 32% of villages. There was some variation in the type and extent of fundraising by region and also by the predominant ethnic groups of the village. Villages with voluntary fundraising activities seemed to have well established collective mechanisms for agreeing on sums to be collected and their use, and for collecting and recording income and expenditure. Non-payment was rare, and misuse of funds was not reported. Respondents were asked how much compounds might be willing to pay for insecticide impregnantion: the most frequently cited maximum amounts were D5 and 10, and minimum D1 and 5 (D15 = 1 pound). The paper discusses payment options for insecticide, such as whether the village should be allowed to decide itself how to raise funds, and whether the payment should be made only by households with nets or by a village-wide mechanism such as collective farming.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
PIP: Surveys were conducted in 53 villages in The Gambia to determine the status of current village fundraising for development purposes. Questions were also asked about respondents' willingness to pay for insecticide and the preferred means of paying. All of the surveyed villages paid taxes/rates, but 34% of villages reported no voluntary fundraising. The most common reason for collecting money was for the maintenance of wells; such fundraising was cited by 40% of villages. Collective farming was used as a means of raising money in 32% of villages. The authors identified some variation in the type and extent of fundraising by region and also by the predominant ethnic groups of the village. Villages with voluntary fundraising activities seemed to have well established collective mechanisms for agreeing upon sums to be collected and their use, and for collecting and recording income and expenditure. Non-payment was rare and the misuse of funds was not reported. Respondents most frequently cited a compound willingness to pay a maximum of D5-10 for insecticide impregnation, with D15 equivalent to one pound Sterling. Payment options for insecticide are discussed, followed by the presentation of details of the actual mechanism selected for implementation by the National Impregnated Bednet Program.