Describe the critical need your solution addresses.

1 in 5 developing world children (1.5 million annually) die before age 5; 2/3 deaths are easily treatable, particularly diarrhoea. Poor awareness, scant local availability of simple medicines and cheap, home-based water disinfection are key constraints; a function of poorly developed rural medical supply chains and integrated, simple solutions.

Explain your initiative in more depth and its stage of development.

In 2008 former British Aid worker Simon Berry realised that with multi-nationals competing for CSR 'wins' he could employ his stakeholder management, ICT and Social Media skills to resurrect an idea he originally had in Africa in 1988: ColaLife – transporting oral rehydration salts (ORS) and simple medicines in Cola crates. With Facebook supporters quickly growing into 1000’s, and winning support from UK and international media, Simon was able to engage Coca-Cola – which reaches even the most remote developing world communities via small-scale independent entrepreneurs – and persuade them to allow their bottlers to engage in locally determined health projects to carry AidPods, designed by Simon and co-director Jane Berry, to fit between bottles within their crates. AidPods also contain educational materials: on hand-washing, sterilising water to mix with ORS, and continuing feeding and fluid intake. Once contents are removed, it acts as an accurately sized ‘jug’ to mix an appropriate quantity of ORS. An added innovation is to enable each AidPod to perform a Solar Disinfection (SODIS) function, simply by producing it in PET plastic, to put on a roof for 6 hours’ sun exposure. SODIS is WHO-recommended and used in 30 countries to clean water. Now backed by global experts and aligned with WHO/UNICEF policy on combating diarrhoea, ColaLife is working with a major pharmaceutical company on contents and package design, and planning a field trial in Zambia, in discussion with major health players including Ministry of Health, NGOs and SABMiller. The support team includes a micro-payments partner, providing solutions to track safe delivery and reward micro-hauliers via small cash payments on their phone. Once AidPods reach ‘the last mile’ community health workers can pick them up and educate new mothers; other models include sale through retail outlets or restocking clinic storerooms.

How does your strategy and approach respond creatively and comprehensively to key issues?

WHO/UNICEF’s October 09 report highlights slow progress in diarrohea treatment: 1 in 5 child deaths is still due to diarrhoea, killing more youngsters than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. They call for ’strengthened distribution systems’ and ‘innovative delivery’ coupled with new communications strategies so that new-formula low-osmolarity Oral Rehydration Salts reach the 61% of children (71% in Africa) who currently go without this simple, recommended life-saving treatment. Distribution problems and poor knowledge are worse in rural areas. WHO recommends ‘Diarrhoea Kits’ combining ORS and zinc treatment with educational materials, acknowledging ‘market-based solutions are often the most effective way to deliver key diarrhoeal control commodities.’
ColaLife creates a new model of developing country distribution for simple, lifesaving medicines. It offers win-win arrangements locally, nationally and internationally, letting agencies exploit unused space in existing commercial channels, which already penetrate locally, to ‘piggy-back’ social product distribution, incurring minimal extra cost, management and logistics. Aidpods fit between cola bottles, carrying locally-determined products close to health centres, field workers and communities even in rural areas. On delivery, micro-payments by mobile incentivise local carriers and businesses to develop diversified social enterprise roles, complementing and enhancing what is already in place. ColaLife incentivises multi-nationals with new, practical and genuinely impactful CSR opportunities.
We want to make it culturally and economically unacceptable for big business to practice mono-distribution in developing countries, where traditional health distribution channels outside urban areas are, as charity VillageReach explains ‘simply not available or so expensive to procure that they are not operationally viable’.
The ‘AidPod’ packaging provides a waterproof, insect-proof and tamper-proof container that disinfects the right quantity of water. It separates social products (physically and intellectually) from the commercial product; can carry clear educational and awareness messages and instructions; or could be personalised for one patient, fieldworker or stall.