Come back in six months

摘要

"Free mosquito nets for pregnant mothers" was one of Paul Biya's more attractive campaign slogans. Bednets are cheap, easy to use and prevent children from dying of malaria. This is the kind of promise that wins votes. But Cameroon's 71-year-old president has a 22-year record of not delivering. On polling day, October 11th, Catherine Ngo-mil's baby son was covered in mosquito bites. She had never received a net. Even so, she doesn't like to complain. She can always buy medicines in the nearest town, she says, which is reachable by a churned mud road from Bonabile, the seaside village where she lives. A sign by the road promises that it will soon be upgraded, but Ms Ngomil is not counting on it.