This evaluation, conducted by the Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Evaluation (CITE) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), studied malaria rapid diagnostic tests from the perspective of suppliers in Uganda. These tests can serve as an easy-to-use, low-cost option for diagnosing malaria, but they are often underused in Uganda, and elsewhere. The evaluators found that retailers’ willingness to stock the tests was diminished by the time it takes to sell tests, and to train for administering them. The researchers recommend posing the tests as a service, rather than a product, and call for the design of incentive-based business models which share the risks presented by the tests’ short shelf lives across the supply chain.
CITE at MIT, 2016