A health worker in rural Kenya opens a vaccine refrigerator to find that a power outage destroyed an entire month's supply of life-saving vaccines. Thousands of children will go unprotected. This scenario plays out daily across developing nations, where 35% of vaccines are damaged by temperature exposure before reaching patients.
35% of vaccines are damaged by temperature exposure
My 8-year journey with VARO helped to turned this crisis into opportunity, creating the world's most trusted vaccine monitoring system and protecting millions of lives in the process.
In 2016, the global health community faced a hidden epidemic: vaccine waste was quietly undermining immunization programs worldwide. Health facilities in low-resource settings lacked the infrastructure to monitor cold-chain temperatures effectively, leading to:
The challenge wasn't just technical, it was deeply human. How do you create a solution that works for a community health worker with limited smartphone experience in remote Tanzania, a logistics manager in urban Nigeria, and an NGO coordinator in rural Guatemala?
The Vision: Transform any smartphone into a sophisticated vaccine monitoring system that anyone can use, anywhere.
Working with funding from the Gates Foundation, our team began the work of human-centered design of VARO a free Android application that has become the gold standard for vaccine cold-chain monitoring globally.
Universal Compatibility
Works with any cold-chain equipment from any manufacturer—no expensive hardware purchases, no complex installations.
Radical Simplicity
Extracts temperature data automatically, generates standardized reports, and sends them via email in just minutes.
Privacy by Design
Unlike competitors, VARO doesn't harvest user data. Health workers control who receives their information.
Cultural Adaptability
Designed through extensive field research across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to work across diverse contexts and literacy levels.
Deep Field Immersion (2016-2024)
Our approach wasn't to design from Silicon Valley and ship to the world. Instead, I embedded myself in the communities VARO would serve:
4 years of sustained presence in Nairobi and Mombasa, building relationships with health partners through regular field visits and weekly calls.
Cross-continental research spanning 40+ countries, working directly with health workers to understand their mental models, workflows, and constraints.
Participatory co-creation workshops using paper prototyping, card sorting, and design sessions to surface tacit knowledge and ensure cultural appropriateness.
Key Design Insights
Through hundreds of hours with frontline health workers, several crucial insights emerged:
The results speak to the power of human-centered design applied to global health challenges:
Behind every data point is a child who received a potent vaccine, a community protected from preventable disease, and a health worker empowered with the information needed to save lives.
This project reinforced my belief that the best design is invisible—it solves problems so elegantly that users forget they're using technology at all. VARO succeeds because it:
Respects user expertise by enhancing rather than replacing human judgment
Builds on existing behaviors instead of demanding wholesale workflow changes
Prioritizes equity by working equally well in resource-rich and resource-limited settings
Delivers immediate value while enabling long-term system strengthening
The VARO project offers insights that transcend global health:
Start with deep empathy, not assumptions. Eight years of field work revealed needs that desk research never could.
Design for constraints, not ideal conditions. The most elegant solutions work within real-world limitations.
Build relationships, not just products. Sustained partnerships create better outcomes than drive-by design.
Measure what matters. Technical success means nothing without human impact.
Visit varo-app.org to learn more.
The challenge now isn't technical—it's sustainability.
After eight years of demonstrated global impact, VARO faces a common challenge in the social impact space: securing continued funding. While the Gates Foundation partnership concluded, the need for vaccine monitoring has only grown more critical in our post-pandemic world.
This inflection point represents opportunity, not ending. VARO's proven track record across 40+ countries, its recognition as the industry gold standard, and its robust user base create a compelling foundation for the right partner. Whether through corporate social responsibility initiatives, government partnerships, or social enterprise models, VARO is positioned for sustainable scale.
The design work is done—the impact framework is proven. What's needed now is a partner who recognizes that global health equity isn't just morally imperative, it's strategically smart. In an interconnected world, strengthening health systems everywhere strengthens health security everywhere.
Leading a project through both exponential growth and strategic transition has taught me valuable lessons about:
Designing for sustainability from day one - building systems that can survive funding cycles.
Creating compelling impact narratives that attract diverse stakeholder investment.
Balancing user needs with business reality in resource-constrained environments.
Leading through uncertainty while maintaining team focus and stakeholder confidence.
These experiences have shaped my approach to every project since: how do we create solutions that are not just effective, but also resilient?
VARO's story isn't ending. The platform has proven that thoughtful, human-centered design can create lasting global impact. Now it needs a partner who shares that vision.
For organizations ready to make a measurable difference in global health equity, VARO represents a turnkey opportunity to save lives at scale.
For designers, it demonstrates how our work can create ripple effects far beyond user interfaces shaping health outcomes for millions.
Interested in learning how proven impact design can drive your organization's mission?
Let's explore how strategic design thinking creates solutions that matter.
