Since 1981 Land O’Lakes International Development has applied an integrated approach to international economic development that capitalizes on its 90 years as a leading farm-to-market agribusiness. The company uses its practical experience and in-depth knowledge to facilitate market-driven business solutions that generate econonmic growth, improve health and nutrition, and alleviate poverty. Student intern Ebony developed curriculum for a Land O’Lakes incubator aimed at empowering women in agriculture.
The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to strengthening integrated health systems in the developing world and expanding access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. CHAI’s solution-oriented approach focuses on improving market dynamics for medicines and diagnostics; lowering prices for treatment; accelerating access to life saving technologies; and helping governments build the capacity required for high quality care and treatment programs. Student intern Fred Denny worked with importers in Tanzania to determine how best to distribute rapid diagnostic tests once they arrive in the country.
The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to strengthening integrated health systems in the developing world and expanding access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. CHAI’s solution-oriented approach focuses on improving market dynamics for medicines and diagnostics; lowering prices for treatment; accelerating access to life saving technologies; and helping governments build the capacity required for high quality care and treatment programs. Student intern Amy Hendricks worked with the global- and country-based malaria teams to investigate whether limited access to capital affects markups and other costs throughout the pharmaceutical supply chain.
The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to strengthening integrated health systems in the developing world and expanding access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. CHAI’s solution-oriented apprach focuses on improving market dynamics for medicines and diagnostics; lowering prices for treatment; accelerating access to life-saving technologies; and helping governments build the capacity required for high quality care and treatment programs. By coordinating with the Tanzanian, Ghanaian, and Ugandan Ministries of Health and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, student intern Dave Yeh conducted detailed analysis to develop an effective pharmaceutical distribution system.
Support for International Change (SIC) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to limiting the burden of HIV/AIDS in rural, underserved communities. It provides education in schools, workplaces, and community centers, and offers counseling and testing. Medical School student David Yongwoo Seo’s project goal was to leverage existing mobile technology in order to make the evaluation of services more efficient and automated. He coordinated with a mobile survey partner to set up the necessary hardware and software; modified SIC’s existing patient evaluation questions to best fit the format of the short message service (SMS) survey; created and delivered a training program to community health workers how to execute a survey using this platform; piloted the survey and assessed initial outcomes; and monitored technical and methodological issues to optimize the next survey.
Twaweza, which means “we can make it happen” in Swahili, is a 10-year, citizen-centered initiative that focuses on large-scale change in East Africa. The initiatiave believes that lasting change requires bottom-up action and seeks to foster conditions and expand opportunities through which millions of people can get information and make change happen in their own communities. Twaweza’s Uwezo initiative is a “citizen movement-based” approach to assessing literacy and numeracy levels in East Africa. Uwezo is engaged in monitoring basic literacy and numeracy levels of children age 5-16 years across at least 50 percent of the districts in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda through a household-based survey. The student team identified a business and technology solution that made Twaweza’s Uwezo work seamlessly in terms of hiring, due diligence, financial flow management, and physical logistics.
The project “Focusing on the Next Generation: An Exploration of Enterprise Poverty Impacts on Children” consisted of qualitatively assessing the impacts of six inclusive businesses across sectors (sanitation, healthcare, agribusiness, renewable energy, housing) and geographies (Latin America and East Africa) on children ages 0-8 years. Funded by the Bernard Van Leer Foundation (BvLF), WDI conducted semi-structured, in-depth, face-to-face interviews with approximately 170 persons from the Base of the Pyramid (BoP). The project team reviewed data regularly to identify emerging patterns. A variety of key and local stakeholders were interviewed to allow for triangulation of impacts. The data collected was coded and analyzed to make cross-stakeholder comparisons within the business on three areas of well-being: Economic, capability and relationship. WDI also analyzed the data to make cross-business comparisons by area of well-being and by stakeholder (customer, distributor, employee and persons in the broader community that do not engage with the venture). The team developed detailed research case studies on six BoP business models from different sectors and geographies including CEMEX’s Patrimonio Hoy, Sanergy, Honey Care Africa, Solar Aid’s SunnyMoney, Villa Andina and Penda Health. These case studies will be used by BvLF for three main purposes: (1) as part of the BvLF’s efforts to mobilize resources and support a Young Child Venture Fund; (2) to identify social investment opportunities for BvLF; and (3) to influence leaders in the field of social impact investing to include metrics related to young children in their measurement systems. The Honey Care Africa research case study was also developed into a teaching case now available through WDI Publishing. WDI also generated an article that summarizes the findings across the ventures. A version of this summary article was selected as a finalist for the Social Issues in Management Division’s Best Paper Award at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting. Additionally findings from research with Sanergy was published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
View report at https://wdi.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/Child-Impact-Summary-Article-v3.pdf.
View summary article at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.12345/abstract.
Providing healthcare in remote areas presents a variety of interrelated and complex issues including affordability and availability of medicines. This research specifically explored the lack of working capital within different layers of the healthcare distribution network as a factor influencing access to essential medicines.
The primary objective of the Tanzania Remote Distribution Incentive Project (TZ-RDIP) was to understand the key drivers influencing the availability and affordability of artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) in remote medicine shops for the treatment of malaria. This project was based on the premise that individuals with limited financial resources seek treatment in the private sector, but that good, quality medicines –especially for malaria—may not be reaching the remotest drug shops where these individuals seek their treatment.
Over the past seven years, Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) has been the backbone of HIV/AIDS programs worldwide, distributing over USD $1 billion worth of essential medicines (e.g., antiretrovirals) and other health commodities to various countries around the world. In fourteen African countries, SCMS has contracted local vendors to supply commodities valued over USD $100 million. The WDI helped document the impact of the SCMS program on local business and economies in four countries — Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia — and developed a white paper on lessons learned and accomplishments achieved thus far.