Social Issue: Malaria Nets

Malaria is still a big problem in many parts of the world, which seems pretty ridiculous to me. But what I find even more rediculous is that people are arguing over the best way to distribute mosquito nets ( a known method of combating malaria). The two sidesof the case are: handing out nets for free, vs, subsidising nets and selling the at a low cost ($1).
On the one hand, socially marketing the nets is good because poor people apparently place more value on "brand-name goods the pay for than the handsouts they get for free." Also, the selling of subsidised nets can create some amount of entrepreneship.
But on the other hand, people aren't getting the nets they need. A world health organization set the goal that by 2005, 60% of children in Africa would be sleeping under nets, but in reality, only 3% were.
There's a large article in National Geographic this month about how animals spread disease to humans and how big a potential problem it is. It's interesting but also scary. If we can't even combat malaria, something there is preventative measures and a cure for, what are we going to do when something much worse comes along, that we don't know how to fight?