08/10/2024

Introducing GeoSeals: Eliminating supply chain stockouts in rural Ethiopia

To save lives, humanitarian aid needs to be in the right place at the right time.

In hard to reach conflict zones, areas without electric and internet connectivity and where staff are overstretched, reliable real time data does not exist. This results in stock running out, medicines expiring and inefficiencies in delivery. Ultimately this puts the lives of the most vulnerable on the line.

But GeoSeals could help. It's a tech-driven solution which could gather the data needed to ensure stock is available for those who need it most, by sticking RFID labels on boxes of aid, and tracking their arrival at rural health points using IoT-enabled sensors called GeoHubs. In March 2024 we followed the team to Ethiopia to capture their live reflections as they installed 6 GeoHubs on the road between Addis Ababa to Fedis: a 600km delivery route for RUTF supplies (ready to use therapeutic food). This enabled them to track 200 boxes of RUTF supplies. If the trial is successful the data collected by each GeoHub will present a clear picture of supply journeys, and the stock at each remote health point of life-saving malnutrition aid.

Find out more here:
https://www.frontiertechhub.org/geoseals

Next

Integrating AI into the asset management of rural water supply schemes in Nepal