ESD Faculty and Teaching Staff Luncheon

Supply Chain Interventions for Improving Access to Malaria Medicines

By Prashant Yadav
MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program
Zaragoza Logistics Center, SPAIN

Abstract:
Malaria continues to be a severe and growing health problem especially in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Due to the importance of the private sector as a source for malaria treatments in many countries, global health policy makers are investigating ways to improve the access to high quality anti-malarial treatments in the private sector distribution channels. K. Arrow et al (2004) and Laxminarayanan et al (2005) discuss a supranational subsidy for artemisinin combination therapy treatments for malaria and argue that it may lead to improved private sector access. We explore the operational and supply chain implications of such a supranational subsidy and determine secondary interventions that may result in ensuring a higher “pass- through” of the subsidy to end-patients. Central to our analysis is the idea of creating incentives for private wholesalers; we show how such incentive schemes are efficiency improving both for the social planner and the channel intermediaries. We also share small insights from the work on improving the public sector supply chain for anti-malarials.

This talk is based on the author’s ongoing work in various least developed countries.