In 2008, MEDA Tanzania asked GlobalHealth Lab for help with tracking the distribution and use of discount vouchers for insecticide-treated bed nets within a nationwide public-private partnership for malaria prevention. Through an analysis of MEDA’s tracking system and infrastructure and through surveys and reviews of available technologies, the MIT student team formulated recommendations for technology investments in terms of data collection, management, and dissemination. The team also identified business process enhancements and laid out a framework for structuring technology investments that would both enhance current operations and create a platform for MEDA’s future growth. Although the students’ work had aimed to inform the implementation of an SMS voucher system, MEDA and the Tanzanian government undertook that effort on a separate timeline. The students’ investigation of broader questions of technology adoption, however, yielded ideas and frameworks that continued to be relevant to MEDA and similar organizations.
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