tragedy of easy problems

easy problems

easy problems have solutions:

economically feasible technically effective logistically scalable

easy problems are everywhere: cataract blindness diarrheal disease childhood vaccination and more…

cataract blindness

Nearly 40 million people in the world are blind. Cataracts are the world’s leading cause of blindness, affecting almost 20 million people. The backlog is growing.

cataract blindness Nearly 40 million people in the world are blind. Cataracts are the world’s leading cause of blindness, affecting almost 20 million people. The backlog is growing.

cataract blindness Nearly 40 million people in the world are blind. Cataracts are the world’s leading cause of blindness, affecting almost 20 million people. The backlog is growing.

cataract blindness Nearly 40 million people in the world are blind. Cataracts are the world’s leading cause of blindness, affecting almost 20 million people. The backlog is growing.

cataract blindness Nearly 40 million people in the world are blind. Cataracts are the world’s leading cause of blindness, affecting almost 20 million people. The backlog is growing. There is a fast, cheap, and highly successful surgery.

But what are cataracts? A cataract is an opacification of the eye’s lens that causes blindness. It is treated by the removal of the lens and replacement with an intraocular lens (IOL).

An innovative model High throughput: Thousands of free surgeries performed High quality: Small Incision Cataract Surgery with IOL Low price: Cost per surgery is $15-$20 Sustainable: Paying patients subsidize costs for free patients

A little history This model was pioneered by Govindappa Venkataswamy at the Aravind Eye Hospital Emerged from the eye camps run by South Indian ophthalmologists Sought to bring to eye care what McDonald’s brought to hamburgers: Scale, efficiency

Other easy problems A promising legacy: Smallpox, Rinderpest The next big things: Polio, guinea worm Seizing opportunities: Diarrheal disease Innovating to easy: Malaria

Other easy problems A promising legacy: Smallpox, Rinderpest The next big things: Polio, guinea worm Seizing opportunities: Diarrheal disease Innovating to easy: Malaria

Other easy problems A promising legacy: Smallpox, Rinderpest The next big things: Polio, guinea worm Seizing opportunities: Diarrheal disease Innovating to easy: Malaria

Other easy problems A promising legacy: Smallpox, Rinderpest The next big things: Polio, guinea worm Seizing opportunities: Diarrheal disease Innovating to easy: Malaria

Why do we fail to address easy problems? The perception problem The mission problem

Doing what works: The incentive triangle community’s desiresworker’s desires opportunity

What happens when we fail? My own venture, CatarACT International, failed. What did we learn?

How do we succeed well and fail well? We have to get the most out of every stage.

How do we succeed well and fail well? We have to get the most out of every stage. We can with a process- oriented approach to identify new ideas and bring them to scale.

How do we succeed well and fail well? We have to get the most out of every stage. A development research to action group.

How do we succeed well and fail well? We have to get the most out of every stage. Think broadly. Realize specifically. Yield sustainably.

Acknowledgements Dr. V. Panneerselvam & Dr. Michael Gyasi The whole CatarACT team, especially Yuna Rapoport, Nick Naroditski, Amar Vira, Ashwin Anandani, Yamei Liu, Chris Yim, Gokul Kumar, Hema Ramkumar, Tanay Dudhela, and Neha Malhotra. Shivan Sivakumar Leila Wilmers (TRYcycle) Personal funding: Northwestern University Medical Scientist Training Program Fulbright Scholarship St John’s College, Cambridge, Benefactors Scholarship CatarACT funding: Northwestern University and private donors