A New York Times article (Sept 27, 2011) describes the historic levels of cholera that persisted when sweetened drinks were strained using a sari (made of cotton fabric) because microorganisms are smaller than the pores in the fabric. A research team found that folding a sari four times will provide the required straining capability to decrease the plankton in contaminated water. An experiment in 27 villages showed a 50 % drop in cholera rates – a far cheaper way to decrease cholera than other schemes. How should health care supply chains be incented to improve performance using low cost schemes such as this idea ? Given that no one benefits from such solutions, should exploration of such solutions be done by students being trained to innovate in trying conditions ? Or should innovators be paid based on the costs saved by WHO and governments as a result of such innovations ?