The builder's path
For: Health workers in Manipur can't see how fast people are switching to injecting prescription painkillers, or get guidance on treating them.
“Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control.”
Routes to a solution
Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Manipur.
Step 1
Join an impact incubator
Shape a model that pays for itself without excluding the people who need it.
Incubator for social enterprises in health, agriculture and livelihoods.
Lab-to-market platform for science and technology aimed at social problems.
Patient capital and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
The national startup programme: recognition, schemes and a directory of incubators.
Step 2
Raise patient capital
Impact funds and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
Incubator for social enterprises in health, agriculture and livelihoods.
Lab-to-market platform for science and technology aimed at social problems.
Incubator and investor at IIM Ahmedabad, with impact programmes.
Patient capital and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.
The Government of India's free tele-mental health helpline, which can be linked for families seeking help.
India's central drug regulator, which sets rules for prescription medicines.
Reports on drug use and opioid use disorders in the region.
See the shift to opioid painkillers first and asked for updated guidance.
Would issue guidance to hospitals and monitor misuse patterns.
Starter prompt
Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.
Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Imphal, Manipur, India. Problem: Health workers in Manipur can't see how fast people are switching to injecting prescription painkillers, or get guidance on treating them. Who it hurts: Counsellors, rehabilitation centres and hospitals in Manipur, and the families of people dependent on Tramadol and Tapentadol. The moment it hurts: A young person arrives at a rehabilitation centre with an infection from injecting crushed painkiller tablets, and staff have no protocol for it. What people do today: Officials and counsellors rely on seizures, deaths and admissions to spot the trend, and seizure data on these painkillers is not readily available. Why it is still unsolved: The drugs are legal medicines sold through pharmacies, so misuse is scattered across prescriptions and informal sales, and no one brings together what pharmacies, hospitals and rehab centres are seeing. What solved looks like: A shared, anonymous reporting tool for pharmacists, hospitals and rehabilitation centres in Manipur to log suspected misuse and complications, showing trends by district, with up-to-date treatment guidance for dependence, withdrawal and injection injuries. Where: Imphal, Manipur, India First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions. Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use. Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
Talk to the people who live it before you build.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
ὁ δὲ ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτὸς ἀνθρώπῳ
Get a working version in front of people fast.
Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Open data that fits this problem.
“Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light.”
असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय।
asato mā sad gamaya, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya
Tools matched to what this problem needs.
“That which is an obstacle on the road helps us on this road.”
Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.