Cola Life - supplying life-saving medication via Coca Cola.

[FaithlessThinker]

Hey, this is a TEDx video on "Cola Life" which is an initiative to utilize the effective distribution channels of Coca Cola, Pepsi and other products to supply life-saving medications to the third world, such as countries in Africa.



What are your views on his idea and his plans?

Sidenote: TEDx official homepage. (TEDx is supported by TED.)

 

[Inferno]

Re: Cola Life - supplying life-saving medication via Coca Co

This sounds fricking excellent!

Just searched for their Homepage: http://www.colalife.org/

Joining their FB now, gonna see what I can contribute. Excellent thing.

 

[ArthurWilborn]

Re: Cola Life - supplying life-saving medication via Coca Co

Sounds like a great idea.

 

[kenandkids]

Re: Cola Life - supplying life-saving medication via Coca Co

Perhaps I'm just jaded, but why won't this turn out exactly like other attempts to introduce cheap or free medicine? Nearly every time we come up with methods that are workable, fundamentalists protest that a vast conspiracy is taking place (innoculations/vaccines) or warlords and such steal or destroy the material.

 

[FaithlessThinker]

Re: Cola Life - supplying life-saving medication via Coca Co

Perhaps I'm just jaded, but why won't this turn out exactly like other attempts to introduce cheap or free medicine? Nearly every time we come up with methods that are workable, fundamentalists protest that a vast conspiracy is taking place (innoculations/vaccines) or warlords and such steal or destroy the material.

What other attempts were made before? Anyway the guy is only talking about diarrhea re-hydration kits as of now, not vaccines and advanced medicines like that (not yet anyway). So I think it should be safe from those fundamentalists, because it's fairly accepted general knowledge that you need to have such kits in places where water contamination risk is high in order to reduce child mortality rates.

 

[ArthurWilborn]

Re: Cola Life - supplying life-saving medication via Coca Co

Perhaps I'm just jaded, but why won't this turn out exactly like other attempts to introduce cheap or free medicine? Nearly every time we come up with methods that are workable, fundamentalists protest that a vast conspiracy is taking place (innoculations/vaccines) or warlords and such steal or destroy the material.

The main difference is the method of transportation. Usually such supplies are delivered by medical convoys, which are expensive to obtain, keep running, and to get to the affected areas. Also, such convoys make attractive targets both for the supplies they carry and the people who can be held for ransom. Hiring out local labor is a lot cheaper, and it's not worth anyone's time to kidnap a local guy on a moped with half a crate of soda and some water bottles.