If the purchase of these products were to rely solely on individual decisions made by recipients of cash transfers, there might be insufficient demand to justify large-scale supply, potentially leading to lower availability and higher costs per unit.
One might even say that providing complete autonomy of choice between bednets and cash to recipients is impossible at a constant funding level. If one could do a widespread distribution of bednets for $2 a person in an area, it should often be feasible to distribute $2 (less administrative costs) to each person instead. However, if bednets now cost $3 because the efficiencies of mass distribution have been lost, then “receive a bednet for free” is no longer something the beneficiary can actualize. In other words, without increasing the funding to allow for “choose between $2 cash or a $3 bednet,” replacing bednets with cash doesn’t really give those who prefer bednets the freedom to choose bednets.
One might even say that providing complete autonomy of choice between bednets and cash to recipients is impossible at a constant funding level. If one could do a widespread distribution of bednets for $2 a person in an area, it should often be feasible to distribute $2 (less administrative costs) to each person instead. However, if bednets now cost $3 because the efficiencies of mass distribution have been lost, then “receive a bednet for free” is no longer something the beneficiary can actualize. In other words, without increasing the funding to allow for “choose between $2 cash or a $3 bednet,” replacing bednets with cash doesn’t really give those who prefer bednets the freedom to choose bednets.