Background
The first phase of a joint IBM, Novartis and Vodaphone initiative, called SMS for Life, has been delivered in Tanzania.One million people die from malaria each year in Africa and this initiative will help to ensure that people can get the life-saving drugs they need. The project uses a combination of mobile phones, SMS technologies and electronic mapping to track and help manage the supply of drugs.
The solution
The idea is to report stock levels of anti-malaria drugs using weekly SMS messages. The information is then displayed in tables, graphs and on Google Maps, and email alerts are generated for health facilities which are out of stock of any of the drugs being tracked. Supply chain coordinators then use this information to determine how best to resolve the stock issues.
Early findings in the first district to go live indicate out-of-stock levels at more than 55%, confirming initial assumptions.
The solution, which may even appear trivial in the developed world, is actually ideal in its African context and meets the needs of those for whom it has been designed. "And now we have the makings of a successful pilot, we could see this solution rolled out across much of sub-Saharan Africa over the next few years", believes Peter Ward of IBM. "That really would be a great result for everyone involved!"
Additional information
Rollback Malaria article
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