Who are you and who do you work for?
Well, six months back I graduated from engineering at the University of Waterloo in Canada. I studied systems design engineering and in my last year, I found my career interests to primarily lie in entrepreneurism and development work.
This September I became an Intern for the Mennonite Economic Development Associates , a Canadian-based NGO that works across the world – in countries like Afghanistan, Nicaragua, and the Ukraine to name a few – and has departments that focus on ‘Production and Marketing Linkages (PML is MEDA-talk for value chains)’, ‘Microfinance’, and ‘Investment Fund Development’ (MEDA Website). What drew me to MEDA was their track record of applying their knowledge of business (economics, loans, marketing, etc.) to alleviate poverty. For example, one PML project called ‘Behind the Veil’ in Pakistan links women that embroider clothing to local markets, giving them valuable information like what styles to make (Behind the Veil). In Afghanistan, MEDA has a microfinance project that provides loans to rural women, enabling them to become horticulture experts and provide higher-quality fruits and vegetables sold in hotels and supermarkets (Toronto Star article).
My internship is with MEDA Tanzania in Dar es Salaam (MEDA Tanzania). In Tanzania, we are doing PML type work but our product is mosquito nets. The objective is to build-up the private sector by linking manufacturers, retailers, and clinics through a voucher scheme, called the Tanzania National Voucher Scheme (TNVS).
MEDA Headquarters in Dar es SalaamHow it works in a nutshell:
Our NGO distributes vouchers to clinics across Tanzania – the voucher pays for a portion of the mosquito net cost. When a pregnant women or infant visits the clinic they receive a voucher, then when they present the voucher to a retailer with the remaining amount (top up), they receive a mosquito net. The top up amount varies depending on the transportation costs and industry trends. MEDA also recruits retailers, wholesalers, and net manufacturers to ensure the entire process is benefiting everyone.
As a result, they have been able to make mosquito nets more accessible to pregnant women and infants (the most vulnerable people to malaria). It is important to note that TNVS is in partnership with the government and other private/public organizations, including the Ministry of Health in Tanzania, PSI (social marketing), Worldvision (train health clinic staff), and John Hopkins (Behaviour Change).
Why mosquito nets?
Here is the typical explanation I read/hear…
The leading cause of death among all Tanzanians is MALARIA – approximately 31 to 38 million Tanzanians are at risk, making this country one of the most highly endemic countries in the world. Pregnant women and children under five years of age are the most vulnerable – an estimated 16 million episodes of illness, killing 80,000 children every year.
This type of health issues impacts the entire country. Malaria consumes an estimated US$119 million of national resources per year (3.4% of Tanzania’s GDP) through:
1. Costs at the state and household level for health care and treatment
2. Loss of economic productivity
3. Loss of economic opportunities
So if malaria is a major contributor to the poverty cycle, it is an important development issue in Tanzania.
BUT… WHY MUSQUITO NETS? In my opinion, sleeping with Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN) is an obvious step an individual can take in preventing malaria – visit the World Health Organization if you want more hard facts as to why it helps [5]. However, the weakness of applying a PML/value chain approach is that what is obvious to me may not be obvious to the end consumer (pregnant women and infants). Moreover, although we may be successful in making nets more affordable and even accessible in retail outlets, I see our biggest barrier as getting and keeping everyone onboard (clinic staff, consumers, retailers, etc). Before I get ahead of myself, what is clear right now is mosquito nets are our product and my job along with everyone else involved with the project in Tanzania is to help build the private sector. In other words helps sell these...
Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLIN)The focus of my internship
Sometimes when I meet other westerners in Dar es Salaam and tell them about my internship, they have trouble understanding its purpose or are confused why an engineer would be useful at MEDA. Here is how a typical conversation with a westerner in Dar might go:
(initial small-talk about the weather, maybe a joke about whether or not I expect it to snow)
Westerner: So you look Tanzanian but judging by your accent you aren’t, where are you from?
African Mzungu (Me): I’m from Canada, eh?!.. (I trail off due to a lack of laughter) and where are you from?
Westerner: Oh, I’m from (Germany, France, or America are the usual answer), what are you doing here in Dar?
African Mzungu (Me): I’m working for the NGO that is responsible for the logistics and distribution of mosquito nets throughout Tanzania… but I’m working for them as engineering intern
Westerner: Huh? What type of engineering work does mosquito net distribution involve? Haha..
Well, in actuality there is tons of ways an engineer is useful at my NGO..
MEDA Tanzania has a technical focus and actively searches for new ways of applying technology to improve operations. Our NGO has one of the largest databases of GPS coordinates for retailers and clinics across Tanzania. It implements technology to reduce fraud, improve reporting, and advance internal/external communications. My internship will focus on helping/trying to make their technical ambitions a reality. BUT the specifics on our current and upcoming projects is what this blog will be about and I'll leave the details for next time.
Talk to you all soon.
