Case Studies: South Africa
Vision Centers:
A public-private partnership for eye care
Operating in 12 countries, this program locates vision clinics run like private sector entities within public clinics. Government employees, such as nurse assistants, screen and diagnose patients with vision impairments. Then, avoiding the middle man, local youth cut lenses imported from inexpensive markets. The case study includes hurdles faced by the charismatic founder including licensing issues, government bureaucracy, legislation around importing of eyeglass frames, and customs duties.
Download Case Study PDFProject Masiluleke:
Fighting HIV/AIDS through mobile phones
Project Masiluleke was conceived from the desire to address the challenges that result in avoidance of HIV testing, delayed initiation of life-saving treatment and high rates of treatment default - all of which contribute needlessly to high mortality rates from HIV/AIDS. It employs mobile technology and other high-impact, low-cost tools in the fight against HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa. Since 1 October 2009, the project delivers a daily average of 900,000 MTN-donated Please Call Me messages, which are tagged with statistics, facts, and referral information to the National Aids Helpline, where information on HIV/AIDS and TB can be accessed.
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