When I started out in development I had no idea what I’d be able to do to help solve some of the huge, complex problems out there. But that lack of certainty – and an absence of obvious answers – turned out to be a far better starting point than I ever imagined. After a trip to … Continue reading In Malawi, problems as symptoms
Tag: Malawi
Mapping medicine availability via SMS
Medicine stock-outs are a potentially lethal problem in a number of African countries, yet governments insist they don’t occur. What could be more powerful than a map which contradicts this claim? Last week activists in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Zambia started surveying clinics in their respective countries, checking stock levels of essential medicines, including: First-line … Continue reading Mapping medicine availability via SMS
FrontlineSMS, media, and the Malawi elections
It doesn’t quite make the headlines in the same way as elections in Nigeria, the DRC or Zimbabwe, but today the people of Malawi are awaiting the results of a general election which many are saying is too close to call. A peaceful and orderly outcome is crucial. Malawi has one of the fastest growing … Continue reading FrontlineSMS, media, and the Malawi elections
FrontlineSMS takes on rural healthcare in Malawi
Today sees the official launch of the new version of FrontlineSMS. To celebrate, kiwanja.net invited Josh Nesbit – a Senior in the Human Biology Program at Stanford University – to talk about its use in east Africa where he’s spending the best part of this summer introducing the system into a rural hospital in Malawi. … Continue reading FrontlineSMS takes on rural healthcare in Malawi
Technology-aided aid
I’m always interested in innovative ways of getting aid directly to those who need it in the most timely and efficient manner possible. Kiva deals beautifully with one aspect of this – linking lenders in the ‘developed’ world with borrowers in ‘developing’ countries. But when it comes to financial aid to many of the rural … Continue reading Technology-aided aid