Spring Break
Summer Stories -Daniel E. Rosan, Malawi
MBA 09, OI
Issue date: 9/2/08 Section: News
Outside the main hospital, women sell cell phone airtime, men offer rides on their bicycles for a few kwacha, families run market stalls with bananas and mangos (in season), and a bus has even begun to make the 3.5 hour run to the nearest major city, Blantyre. These services are there because patients, their families, and PIH staff demand those services. For the patients I spoke to, PIH is about health care. But for others, PIH is about job creation and the development of a cash economy. What began as two American doctors and one HBS MBA (class of 2006) is now an economic engine for the whole district.
PIH asked me to function as an internal consultant, addressing a wide variety of problems related to procurement and supply chain management. I did everything from train commercial sex workers in basic accounting to analyze patient flow at the laboratory. But most of my time was focused on two main projects: food aid procurement and pharmaceutical supply chain management.
Uniquely among global health providers, PIH provides each HIV and TB patient with food aid. The food is a porridge of cornmeal, soy, vitamins, and sugar, along with cooking oil. The impact is tremendous. Sick patients fight a constant battle against malnutrition, whose only real cure is food. Giving food also improves compliance with treatment regimes. Patients are more likely to keep their appointments if they will also be getting food for a month. And of course, taking toxic AIDS drugs on an empty stomach is practically impossible.
Currently, PIH buys food from international companies. As global food prices soar, PIH's costs do as well. Neno's local farmers should be getting the benefit of rising prices but are shut out because of the poor infrastructure. I developed a business plan for buying from local farmers, processing the food aid, and distributing it to patients. The strategy lowered PIH's overall food aid costs but re-directed spending to local farmers. The second project unraveled PIH's complicated pharmaceutical supply chain. Working with local staff, I developed a new information flow which will eliminate stock-outs while lowering inventory costs and reducing paperwork.
On a personal level, working in Malawi for the summer was probably the single most difficult experience in my life. But to any HBS student looking to spend the summer outside of a cubicle, look to places such as Malawi. The impact is real, and really makes a difference.
PIH asked me to function as an internal consultant, addressing a wide variety of problems related to procurement and supply chain management. I did everything from train commercial sex workers in basic accounting to analyze patient flow at the laboratory. But most of my time was focused on two main projects: food aid procurement and pharmaceutical supply chain management.
Uniquely among global health providers, PIH provides each HIV and TB patient with food aid. The food is a porridge of cornmeal, soy, vitamins, and sugar, along with cooking oil. The impact is tremendous. Sick patients fight a constant battle against malnutrition, whose only real cure is food. Giving food also improves compliance with treatment regimes. Patients are more likely to keep their appointments if they will also be getting food for a month. And of course, taking toxic AIDS drugs on an empty stomach is practically impossible.
Currently, PIH buys food from international companies. As global food prices soar, PIH's costs do as well. Neno's local farmers should be getting the benefit of rising prices but are shut out because of the poor infrastructure. I developed a business plan for buying from local farmers, processing the food aid, and distributing it to patients. The strategy lowered PIH's overall food aid costs but re-directed spending to local farmers. The second project unraveled PIH's complicated pharmaceutical supply chain. Working with local staff, I developed a new information flow which will eliminate stock-outs while lowering inventory costs and reducing paperwork.
On a personal level, working in Malawi for the summer was probably the single most difficult experience in my life. But to any HBS student looking to spend the summer outside of a cubicle, look to places such as Malawi. The impact is real, and really makes a difference.
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nick wright
posted 9/03/08 @ 3:00 PM EST
Good for you, Dan. It is so easy to do good and be popular in Malawi when you have plenty of money and 4WDs. But it looks as if you are thinking beyond that to the sustainability of your enterprise and to local involvement. (Continued…)
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