Running Head Business Caseweek 3 Project Business Case1g ✓ Solved

Non-profit organization to start a vaccine drive using donated supplies for a third world country. Vaccine development can have a big economic impact on a country. The manufacturing plant, the people hired to perform the work, and the sale of vaccines undoubtedly stimulates economic activity. Furthermore, the cost of preventable diseases on a health care system and society has a heavy toll, and vaccine development will absorb some of that economic impact. Particularly, children are susceptible to many airborne diseases and are common spreaders. If a vaccine can be developed to treat airborne communicable diseases in children, it would dramatically cut these economic burdens, and bring huge patient relief. Without doubt, a third world country with limited access to resources to develop or obtain vaccines will benefit from access to vaccines against preventable diseases for health and economic reasons.

However, a third world country would be more limited than others to obtain resources to develop or have access to developed vaccines. This would make the project very costly to provide vaccines to an area where there will be no return for the investment. Therefore, the use of donated materials and resources would be needed. The company would like to take on the mission to hire a project management organization (PMO) Lavender Co. to partner with the company Vaccines for All with other companies including Merck Foundation to organize and develop a vaccine for MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), utilizing donated materials, and administer it to individuals most at risk such as children, to a third world country, Burundi.

The Merck Foundation is a company that has modeled a similar business model to this idea and can assist the PMO with the approach and design of this project. While utilizing resources such as the Merck Foundation, there will undoubtedly be risks inherited by taking on such a project, including the quality of the vaccines and vaccine hesitancy. Critical success factors will be selecting a country, collecting data about the population, and making data-driven decisions. With project assumptions and constraints in mind, the company will track milestones for success with the end goal of achieving herd immunity against MMR in Burundi, beginning with the vaccination of children.

Business Needs

Undertaking a vaccination program in Burundi, a third-world country, will be a vital step to ensuring that all kids who are susceptible to diseases are protected. The activity is to be undertaken for the underprivileged in society, which is a part of helping and empowering all communities across the globe (Yusof, 2019). This will therefore help the underprivileged have better immunity against diseases and lead a healthier life.

Stakeholders or Stakeholder Groups

The party that will be affected by the opportunity most will be the unprivileged children living in Burundi, since they will benefit most from the vaccination program. The community at large can in the future be affected by diseases if no precautions such as vaccinations are undertaken.

The Scope of the Proposed Project

This project will consist of delivering necessary vaccines to the children in Burundi, helping protect them against preventable diseases and ensuring they are in great health as they grow into adulthood.

Characteristics of the Product, Service, or Result of the Project

The product entails a vaccine that has no negative side effects and helps provide sustainable health solutions to the kids. The service entails the provision of injectable vaccines throughout the country, where counseling and follow-up services will take place. The result is to have a healthy child who is not susceptible to preventable diseases as a result of the offered vaccination.

The Relationship Between the Project/Product and the Business Need

From prior research, it is apparent that there are both social and business needs where many children lack proper vaccination that could help them live a safe and healthy life (Schumacher, 2021). Therefore, there was a need to develop a vaccine that addresses the challenges facing kids and has established a gap in health care accordingly.

Analysis of Situation

The Merck Foundation is a philanthropic organization that aims to improve people's health and well-being globally. It focuses on advancing science and technology to improve health outcomes, especially in underserved communities in middle-income and low-income countries. The foundation also aims to empower girls through education and build healthcare capacity.

Known Risks for the Project

Several risks will be encountered during the project. The first risk is the quality of the vaccines. The foundation should have the vaccines tested to ensure that they are of high quality and free of contamination. Misinformation about the vaccines could lead to vaccination hesitancy, which may adversely affect the project's success.

Critical Success Factors

Critical success factors will measure the project's success. One of the primary critical success factors that may be used is the reach of the project, determined by the percentage of immunization at the population level.

Decision Criteria to Access Courses of Action

To decide on the program, it will be backed up by information or data. The foundation will research heavily before initiating the program to ensure that they understand all procedures to promote its success.

Recommendations/Evaluation

To best reduce the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases in underserved global communities, the Merck Foundation will partner with international organizations to provide vaccines at-cost or no cost to developing countries. The prioritized vaccine will be the MMR vaccine to maximize the drive's impact, especially on children, leading to healthier adults and reduced infant mortality (World Health Organization, 2019).

Conclusion

The vaccine drive aims to establish ongoing vaccination capacities in developing countries by demonstrating the positive effects of childhood vaccination. The organization anticipates achieving the World Health Organization’s goal of vaccinating underserved communities, enabling the continuation of funding for further objectives.

References

  • Kwong, A., & Ambizas, E. (2019). Measles and the MMR Vaccine. US Pharm, 44(7), 8-13.

  • Schumacher, H. J. (2021). Are there business opportunities in vaccinating people?

  • World Health Organization. (2019). Estimates of disease burden and cost-effectiveness.

  • Yusof, M. (2019). The impact of vaccinations on global health.

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Vaccines and immunizations.

  • Merck Foundation. (2020). Philanthropic initiatives and projects.

  • Global Vaccine Alliance. (2020). Vaccine access for all: Annual report.

  • UNICEF. (2021). Vaccination support and programs in low-income countries.

  • Johns Hopkins University. (2021). Contributions of vaccinations to public health.

  • López, A. (2021). Economic impact of vaccination programs in developing countries.