Riders for Health is an international social enterprise charging a not-for-profit fee to Ministries of Health, International and African NGO's, local community based organizations and religious groups. They manage and maintain vehicles for these health-focused partners in sub-Saharan Africa with an expertise in transport management that enables health workers to deliver vital health care to rural communities on a reliable and cost-effective basis.
The majority of the population of sub-Saharan Africa live in rural areas where the best roads are little more than dirt tracks. Cars and trucks are not affordable, public transport is infrequent and delivering health care on foot or by bicycle between sparse villages is an exhausting and ineffective task.
The millions of dollars that are invested in vaccines, drugs, bed-nets, condoms and trained health professionals every year would be wasted if they will fail to get to where they are needed in a timely manner.
Riders for Health manages motorcycles, ambulances and other four-wheel vehicles used in the delivery of health care in seven countries across Africa.
The core of the 'Riders' is the training and preventive maintenance of vehicles to ensure that the chain in health care delivery is never broken by failing vehicles, thereby increasing health worker productivity. It is also far cheaper to keep a vehicle running efficiently over time than to repair it when it breaks down completely.
The programmes provide training and employment opportunities to build local expertise. A network of highly skilled technicians regularly travels to service vehicles in the communities in which health workers serve. This means they don’t waste valuable time travelling to a garage when they could be with their patients. Motorcycle training and basic maintenance techniques are also taught to the health workers to ensure safety on the road.
Riders For health has been in existence for about 20 years, it certainly is one of the most benevolent uses of motorcycles anywhere. Some of the primary sponsors of this organization are Dainese, Yamaha, Ducati, MotoGP, and the subject of my blog post yesterday, Ewan McGregor.
The core of the 'Riders' is the training and preventive maintenance of vehicles to ensure that the chain in health care delivery is never broken by failing vehicles, thereby increasing health worker productivity. It is also far cheaper to keep a vehicle running efficiently over time than to repair it when it breaks down completely.
The programmes provide training and employment opportunities to build local expertise. A network of highly skilled technicians regularly travels to service vehicles in the communities in which health workers serve. This means they don’t waste valuable time travelling to a garage when they could be with their patients. Motorcycle training and basic maintenance techniques are also taught to the health workers to ensure safety on the road.
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| Ready to roll |
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| Plenty of 'G.S.' riding here |
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| Part of the process includes motorcycle training |
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| Making the delivery |
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| The bikes give quick and inexpensive access to remote areas |
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