Press release: MIT-Zaragoza has received a Grant of US$492,857.00 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Research Will Help Create a Better Forecasting Methodology for Global Health Products

Zaragoza, SPAIN – March 13, 2009 - The MIT-Zaragoza International

Logistics program at the Zaragoza Logistics Center has received a Grant of US$492,857.00 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study the most effective way to estimate the demand for global health products. The study results could have a profound impact on the planning and quantification processes used in global health programs and would also help create a healthy supply market for these products.

Better demand forecasts are known to result in decreased prices, fewer stock-outs, and enhanced uptake for new global health technologies. Under this 18-month study, researchers at the Zaragoza Logistics Center will work with Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) researchers at MIT as well as experts in several other universities to develop new ways of collecting data that are crucial for demand forecasting.

"This study will have a significant positive impact on many people's lives worldwide," says Professor Yossi Sheffi, Director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, the sister organization of the MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics program in Spain. "Improving demand forecasting for health products will result in greater efficiency in their delivery and lower costs in product manufacturing and shipping. These process improvements will lead to higher availability and lower costs of crucial drugs, alleviating suffering and improving health access across the globe."

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