Living Goods: Delivering Quality Healthcare and Empowering Women in Uganda
| Case Code: LDEN183 Case Length: 17 Pages Period: 2007 - 2020 Pub Date: 2022 Teaching Note: Available |
Price: Rs.400 Organization : Living Goods Industry :Pharmaceuticals & Biotech Countries : Uganda Themes: Social Entrepreneurship, Community Involvement |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
Excerpts
The Solution
Observing that the owners of CFW Shops usually waited for the sick to walk in, Slaughter asked them instead to go to the villages and find out whether people needed medicines. This greatly benefited several patients who were unable to travel to the nearest CFW and were in need of medicines and made Slaughter think of substituting the stores with the mobile agents..
Off to a Start
Community healthcare services have a proven track record of reducing maternal, newborn, and child mortality. These were a part of the UN Millennium Development Goals 2005 - Goal 5 was about improving maternal health and Goal 4 about reducing child mortality. The subsequent Sustainable Development Agenda of the United Nations also emphasized good health and wellbeing through the third goal of ‘ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing at all ages’. The Goal for 2030 was less than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, which called for an improvement in healthcare delivery..
Reaching the Last Mile
After training, CHEs were provided with two types of seed capital viz. fixed capital/ No Cost Loan and Low Interest Loan. While the No Cost Loan was for procuring tools like a uniform, a storage chest, and thermometer, the Low Interest Loan was essentially for purchasing inventory (See Exhibit IV for CHE’s inventory kit). The loan was to be repaid in 48 weeks. The products sold by Living Goods were priced 30% lower than at a regular retail pharmacy store, as Living Goods had eliminated the middlemen in the supply chain..
Managing Performance
In the first year, Living Goods had 400 CHEs. The performance standards set for CHEs were high. And Slaughter ensured that performance was monitored continuously. Of the bottom performers, 30% who demonstrated below expected performance, were periodically removed from the job..
Scaling the Model
For this model to work, it was necessary to have a strong communication system and supply chain function..
Supply Chain and Distribution System
Frequent stockouts were one of the biggest challenges crippling public healthcare systems. Poor distribution systems, under stocked stores, and under-funded resources had paralyzed the incumbent systems. Slaughter’s priority was to ensure that essential medicines were always in stock at the Living Goods’ branches..
A Self-Sustaining Model
Living Goods was financed by a combination of donor funding and money from products sales. Profits covered 80% of CHE costs like recruitment and training and development and 60% of distribution costs like rents, salaries, equipment, marketing, and branding. By 2012. the model was declared self-sustaining..
Impact
Living Goods aimed at positively impacting the health and wealth of more than 50 million people around the world by 2030. It was looking at partnering with NGOs in several countries to replicate the model. It launched a Community Health Promoter Network in Kenya in 2015, where it worked closely with the health ministry. By 2020, Living Goods planned to have more than 1500 CHEs in the country..
Looking Ahead
Going ahead, Slaughter had ambitious plans for Living Goods. He was looking at providing lifesaving healthcare to 34 million people in six countries in East and West Africa by 2021. He planned to improve the network in the four countries he was operating in, and to reach new countries. He also wanted to launch partnerships in new countries..
Exhibits
Exhibit I: Awards won by Living Goods
Exhibit II: Avon Model
Exhibit III: Living Goods Mission and Values
Exhibit IV: Living Goods CHE’s Kit
Exhibit V: Living Goods’ Product Mix
Exhibit VI: Living Goods’ Streamlined Supply Chain
Exhibit VII: Living Goods – Revenue and Expenses
Exhibit VIII: Living Goods: Grants Received
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