Novartis develops app to keep malaria in check

Pharmaceutical company Novatatis has worked with IBM and Vodafone to develop an application to maintain supplies of anti-malarial drugs in Tanzania.

Over one million people die of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa each year, with Tanzania having the highest death toll. 40% of drug facilities in Tanzania have no supplies of the anti-malarial drug, according to IBM.

To ensure drugs are available, Novatis has deployed a mobile application called SMS for Life, where local pharmacists in Tanzania use their mobile phones to send an SMS text message to update a central database on supplies of the anti-malarial drug. In return, they are given credits for their mobile phone.

The information collected is published on Google Maps, which provides visibility on locations that require restocking.