

This technology is saving lives in Africa - agnuku
http://www.fastcompany.com/1707667/hp-and-mpedigree-fight-counterfeit-drugs

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itmag
This is very interesting. Did not realize that mobile phones are so common in
Africa.

What kind of makes/models are typical? I would imagine that they are more low-
tech than in the first world?

Ideas for startups focused on this market? Highly relevant e-learning
delivered via mobile? Low-tech version of Facebook? Mobile-centered food
bartering auction site?

~~~
AznHisoka
Healthcare is a good place to start. Using mobile devices to educate consumers
on health needs, and to build awareness on any outbreaks of diseases where
they live. Think basic needs crucial to survival, not "nice to haves" like an
African Facebook.

~~~
itmag
Also, might there not be legitimate uses for eg "Afribook"?

-Keeping track of displaced relatives

-Organizing for social change

-Spreading info on best practices

-Building connections that might lead to income

-Strengthening communities

Facebook isn't ALL Farmville and teenage gossip, y'know :)

~~~
Dn_Ab
Not really. The rot is such that the basic human rights and needs such a
platform implies are non existant. Anyways, Facebook already has very high
penetration and organizing for change is met with blackberries. A tool akin to
twitter but specialized to anonymity and security would be far more useful.

~~~
rayiner
Not really. That is imbuing the situation with your political preferences re:
privacy.

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saurabhnanda
So, how do they deal with a counterfeiter who simple copies these "unique
codes"? All the counterfeiter needs is access to new OR used pill bottles. Not
very hard, IMO.

~~~
wisty
I'd assume they'd flag anything that gets checked by a consumer. It wouldn't
stop everyone, but a pharmacy wouldn't need too many false alerts before
customers would start going elsewhere, encouraging distributors to be more
careful.

Customers would need to be educated to tear up the code after use, but the
pharmacy would probably handle that ("OK, go to this site, look, it's legit,
now tear up that code").

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saurabhnanda
I guess, one easy way to solve this would be to flag whatever has been
checked, and let the customer know someone else has checked the code before
them.

No one in the original distribution would feel the need to check a code, thus
this would alert consumers of something fishy.

~~~
wisty
Or distributers could use a special interface, which won't flag it as "dirty".
They would use it, because it could help them track how fake goods are getting
fed into their system.

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aaronharnly
Very interesting. I'm so inured to consumer-unfriendly uses of verification
codes and authenticity mechanisms -- it's nice to see one that is genuinely
useful.

