Publications

    Rosenberg J, Ahmad I, Sharara N, Weintraub R. Improving Maternal Health by Addressing Stockouts: Integrating the Private Sector into the Public Health Supply Chain in Senegal. Harvard Business Publishing. 2021.Abstract

    This case traces the development of a series of initiatives to intended to reduce stockouts of family planning commodities in Senegal’s public health system and the eventual scale up of the redesigned supply chain to include additional commodities and its transfer of management to the government. After providing some background on the history of Senegal, including its governance and health system, the case explores early efforts to overhaul the supply chain in the country and reproductive health efforts. It then describes the Gates Foundation’s involvement and how the relationship between family planning and supply chain management came to light. The Gates Foundation, along with others, supported the launch of the Informed Push Model with Third Party Logisticians (IPM-3PL), which proved to reduce stockouts dramatically. Despite significant initial support from both government ministries and international donor agencies, as the program scaled IPM-3PL did not survive the transition to a fully government-run model, and the program was eventually discontinued in 2019 after two attempts to hand over the program to Senegal’s National Supply Pharmacy (Pharmacie Nationale d'Approvisionnement; PNA), the government agency in charge of distribution of medicines. The case ends with the director of the PNA contemplating what was next for Senegal and what she could tell others who had been so closely watching the country as an example.

    Learning Objectives:

    This case documents the need for and process to overhaul Senegal’s public health supply chain. A productive class discussion will allow students to appreciate the following:

    1. The benefits and challenges of transitioning aspects of a public health supply chain between push and pull models
    2. The trade-offs of private sector integration in public health supply chains
    3. How the management and financing structure of a public health supply chain impacts its efficacy and scalability
    4. The need for cross-sector and intragovernmental collaboration for effective supply chain management and the relationship between policy and last mile delivery

    Supply Chain Scenarios

    Keywords: supply chain management, private-public partnership, maternal health, third party logisticians, informed push model, scale up, distribution

    Arnquist S, Rosenberg J, Weintraub R. The Indus Hospital: Building Surgical Capacity in Pakistan (Condensed Version). The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery. 2015.Abstract

    Set in Karachi, Pakistan, this case examines a private hospital's potential to impact health in a resource-constrained setting. Within Pakistan's health care system and its political, socioeconomic, and epidemiological context, the case focuses on the Indus Hospital, a charity hospital started in 2007. The case explores the effect of financing, leadership, and a mission-driven culture on health care delivery and the hospital's efforts to provide high-quality care for free to poor patients. It concludes with Indus' leaders planning how to expand their service delivery to include primary and preventative care. This is a condensed version of the case The Indus Hospital: Delivering Free Health Care in Pakistan

    Teaching Note available through Harvard Business Publishing.

    Indus Hospital Open-Air TB Clinic
    Indus Hospital Open-Air TB Clinic. Pakistani architect Tariq Quaiser designed the Indus Hospital’s open-air TB clinic with a specialized design that optimized natural ventilation for increased airflow that effectively minimized the spread of disease. Source: Case writers.

    Learning Objectives: To understand a private hospital's potential to impact health in a resource-constrained setting, how private financing impacts health care delivery, and the impact of leadership on health care delivery.

    Supporting Content: This is a condensed version of the case The Indus Hospital: Delivering Free Health Care in Pakistan.

    Keywords: Human rights, workforce management, sustainability, role of civil society, information systems, organizational culture

    Rosenberg J, Cole C, May M, Weintraub R. Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Nyanza Province, Kenya (Condensed Version). The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery. 2015.Abstract

    This case traces the development of the voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) campaign in Nyanza Province, Kenya as it transformed from the subject of a randomized clinical trial into national policy. After providing some background on the cultural, political, and scientific context surrounding male circumcision, the case traces the PEPFAR-funded implementers' advances in delivering male circumcision in Nyanza. It examines the various delivery models used in Nyanza and the evolution of the relationship between implementers as well as on the development of the national strategic plan for VMMC released in 2009. The case ends with the implementers having come together successfully for two rapid, aggressive, 30-day implementation campaigns and the head of Kenya's National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Programme wrestling with how to make such campaigns sustainable and what lessons from the campaign to pass on to the national program. This is a condensed version of the case Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Nyanza Province, Kenya.

    Teaching Note available through Harvard Business Publishing.

    Mobile Service Delivery Model
    (A) Group counseling on male circumcision; (B) mobile circumcision counseling site; and (C) circumcision being conducted in tented delivery site. Source: Nyanza Reproductive Health Society.

    Learning Objectives: To understand how a randomized controlled trial may be translated into a large-scale public health program; how a surgical campaign was designed and implemented for rapid impact; the role of national and international collaboration in large-scale health delivery; and the ethical tradeoffs that arise in large-scale public health programs.

    Supporting Content: This is a condensed version of the case Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Nyanza Province, Kenya.

    Keywords: Project management, AIDS, policy, supply and demand, partnerships, strategy, innovation

    Rosenberg J, Wachter K, Weintraub R. Concept Note: Malnutrition. Harvard Business Publishing. 2015.Abstract

    This concept note provides an overview of malnutrition, including its definition, causes, and management related to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. It also describes the state of global malnutrition, including national and international efforts to reduce malnutrition and the stakeholders involved.

    Learning Objectives: To further students’ and instructors’ understanding of malnutrition-related concepts presented in the Global Health Delivery (GHD) Case Collection (e.g., GHD-031: Reducing Child Malnutrition in Maharashtra, India).

    Keywords: Maternal and child health, children, intergenerational disease, public-private partnership, nutrition, strategy, political leadership, scale-up, community health workers, health care delivery, malnutrition, cross-sector collaboration

    Wachter K, Rosenberg J, Singal R, Weintraub R. Reducing Child Malnutrition in Maharashtra, India. Harvard Business Publishing. 2015.Abstract

    This case demonstrates what it takes to address a chronic, intergenerational public health issue. It explores the drivers behind the reduction of malnutrition in Maharashtra State, India, from 2001–2013. Specifically, the case examines the strategies and management decisions of leaders of the government-established Rajmata Jijau Mother-Child Health and Nutrition Mission as they worked to reduce the incidence of malnutrition in children and women through a multi-sectoral collaborative approach.

    Teaching Note available through Harvard Business Publishing.

    Stunting Syndrome from Conception through Adulthood
    Stunting Syndrome from Conception through Adulthood. Dark blue denotes the period between conception and 2 years (‘the first 1000 days’) when interventions are most effective. Light blue denotes the time period between 2 years and mid-childhood and during the adolescent growth spurt when some catch-up in linear growth may occur. The light blue period before Conceptus reflects evidence that dietary interventions targeting stunted women pre-conception improve birth outcomes. Gray denotes periods when the stunting syndrome appears unresponsive to interventions. Dashed line–a stunted child whose environment becomes more affluent with abundant access to food, causing excessive weight gain; solid line–a stunted child whose environment remains resource-constrained/food insecure. Source: Adapted by case writers with assistance from Isabelle Celentano from Pendergast AJ, Humphrey JH. “The stunting syndrome in developing countries,” Paediatr Int Child Health. 2014;34(4):250-265; doi:10.1179/2046905514Y.0000000158.

    Learning Objectives: A productive class discussion will allow students to appreciate how to configure specific interventions and indicators to ameliorate and measure malnutrition for a local setting; the complexity and importance of crafting policies and generating political will across sectors in support of nutrition programs; and the role of a strong community workforce in enabling nutrition programs to reach the target population.

    Keywords: Maternal and child health, children, intergenerational disease, public-private partnership, nutrition, strategy, political leadership, scale-up, community health workers, health care delivery, malnutrition, cross-sector collaboration

    Arnquist S, Weintraub R. The Indus Hospital: Delivering Free Health Care in Pakistan. Harvard Business Publishing. 2012.Abstract

    Set in Karachi, Pakistan, this case examines a private hospital's potential to impact health in a resource-constrained setting. Within Pakistan's health care system and its political, socioeconomic, and epidemiological context, the case focuses on the Indus Hospital, a charity hospital started in 2007. The case explores the effect of financing, leadership, and a mission-driven culture on health care delivery and the hospital's efforts to provide high-quality care for free to poor patients. It concludes with Indus' leaders planning how to expand their service delivery to include primary and preventative care.

    Teaching Note available through Harvard Business Publishing.

    Indus Hospital Open-Air TB Clinic
    Indus Hospital Open-Air TB Clinic. Pakistani architect Tariq Quaiser designed the Indus Hospital’s open-air TB clinic with a specialized design that optimized natural ventilation for increased airflow that effectively minimized the spread of disease. Source: Case writers.

    Learning Objectives: To understand a private hospital's potential to impact health in a resource-constrained setting, how private financing impacts health care delivery, and the impact of leadership on health care delivery.

    Supporting Content: There is a shorter version of this case titled The Indus Hospital: Building Surgical Capacity in Pakistan (Condensed Version).

    Keywords: Human rights, workforce management, sustainability, role of civil society, information systems, organizational culture

    Rosenberg J, Cole C, May M, Weintraub R. Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Nyanza Province, Kenya. Harvard Business Publishing. 2012.Abstract

    This case traces the development of the voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) campaign in Nyanza Province, Kenya as it transformed from the subject of a randomized clinical trial into national policy. After providing some background on the cultural, political, and scientific context surrounding male circumcision, the case traces the PEPFAR-funded implementers' advances in delivering male circumcision in Nyanza. It examines the various delivery models used in Nyanza and the evolution of the relationship between implementers as well as on the development of the national strategic plan for VMMC released in 2009. The case ends with the implementers having come together successfully for two rapid, aggressive, 30-day implementation campaigns and the head of Kenya's National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Programme wrestling with how to make such campaigns sustainable and what lessons from the campaign to pass on to the national program.

    Teaching Note available through Harvard Business Publishing.

    Mobile Service Delivery Model
    (A) Group counseling on male circumcision; (B) mobile circumcision counseling site; and (C) circumcision being conducted in tented delivery site. Source: Nyanza Reproductive Health Society.

    Learning Objectives: To understand how a randomized controlled trial may be translated into a large-scale public health program; how a surgical campaign was designed and implemented for rapid impact; the role of national and international collaboration in large-scale health delivery; and the ethical tradeoffs that arise in large-scale public health programs.

    Supporting Content: There is a shorter version of this case titled Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Nyanza Province, Kenya (Condensed Version).

    Keywords: Project management, AIDS, policy, supply and demand, partnerships, strategy, innovation

    Arnquist S, Weintraub R. loveLife: Preventing HIV Among South African Youth. Harvard Business Publishing. 2011.Abstract

    This case describes the strategy of the nongovernmental organization (NGO), loveLife, to prevent HIV among South African youth in the face of the world’s largest HIV epidemic, youth culture in post-apartheid South African, and a national government hostile to HIV/AIDS programs. The case traces loveLife from its inception and rapid scale up in 1999 to 2005, when loveLife lost one-third of its operating budget after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) chose not to renew its second phase of funding. This case documents loveLife’s strategy in scaling up and sustaining delivery of HIV prevention services at scale. A short, optional case coda describes loveLife’s restructuring and positioning after the Global Fund crisis up to 2009.

    Teaching Note available through Harvard Business Publishing.

    Examples of loveLife media. Source: loveLife.
    Examples of loveLife media. Source: loveLife. (Exhibit 10 from "loveLife: Preventing HIV Among South African Youth" case.)

    Learning Objectives: To learn the application of strategic thinking in HIV prevention using Michael Porter’s “Five Tests of a Good Strategy” and to understand the organizational changes required in transitioning from scaling up to operating at scale.

    Supporting Content: This case has a supplementary summary of history and next steps titled loveLife: preventing HIV among South African youth (Part B). There is also an additional sequel, loveLife: Transitions After 2005.

    Keywords: Demand generation, scale up, sustaining delivery at scale, HIV prevention among youth, strategy, stigma

    Arnquist S, Weintraub R. loveLife: Preventing HIV among South African youth (Part B). Harvard Business Publishing. 2011.Abstract

    This case describes the strategy of the nongovernmental organization (NGO), loveLife, to prevent HIV among South African youth in the face of the world’s largest HIV epidemic, youth culture in post-apartheid South African, and a national government hostile to HIV/AIDS programs. The case traces loveLife from its inception and rapid scale up in 1999 to 2005, when loveLife lost one-third of its operating budget after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) chose not to renew its second phase of funding. This case documents loveLife’s strategy in scaling up and sustaining delivery of HIV prevention services at scale. A short, optional case coda describes loveLife’s restructuring and positioning after the Global Fund crisis up to 2009. 

    Teaching Note available through Harvard Business Publishing.

    HIV Incidence among 15-20-year-old South Africans, 2002-2008. Source: Rehle T, Hallett T, Shisana O, et al. A Decline in New HIV Infections in South Africa: Estimating HIV Incidence from Three National HIV Surveys in 2002, 2005 and 2008. PloS one. 2010;5(6):e11094. (Exhibit 2 from "loveLife: preventing HIV among South African youth" case.)
     

     

    Learning Objectives: To learn the application of strategic thinking in HIV prevention using Michael Porter’s “Five Tests of a Good Strategy” and to understand the organizational changes required in transitioning from scaling up to operating at scale.

    Supporting Content: This case is the supplement to loveLife: Preventing HIV Among South African Youth.

    Keywords: Demand generation, scale up, sustaining delivery at scale, HIV prevention among youth, strategy, stigma

    ole‐MoiYoi K, Rodriguez W. Building Local Capacity for Health Commodity Manufacturing: A to Z Textile Mills Ltd. Harvard Business Publishing. 2011.Abstract

    This case focuses on the establishment of the Olyset® Consortium—a public-private partnership that was created to facilitate the manufacture of long-lasting insecticidal bed nets to prevent malaria infection in sub-Saharan Africa—and A to Z Textile Mills (“A to Z”), the manufacturer of the nets in Arusha, Tanzania. The case examines how the public-private partnership was developed, its use of an incentive-based supply chain, A to Z’s business model and impact, and the sustainability of the venture. The case reveals that despite significant success in attaining objectives, the misaligned incentives of the many partners presented major obstacles to the overall sustainability of A to Z’s Olyset® production line.

    Teaching Note available through Harvard Business Publishing.

    Long Lasting Insecticide Nets and Olyset Production Process
    Long Lasting Insecticide Nets and Olyset Production Process. Source: A to Z Textile Mills Ltd., Arusha, Tanzania (Case Exhibit 9).

    Learning Objectives: To understand the potential for public-private partnerships to leverage innovation and scalability from the private sector and quality and equitable access from the public sector and to examine the costs and benefits of local manufacturing of technologically complex global health commodities in resource-limited settings.

    Keywords: Public-private partnerships, incentive-based supply chain, global health commodity manufacturing, malaria prevention