NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Gambia has been recognised for its success in bringing universal access to maternal health care closer to its citizens by becoming Africa’s first country to have enough motorcycles and ambulances to deliver health care to the whole country, a press release from Riders For Health (RFH) revealed.

According to the release, the partnership between the Gambia’s Ministry of Health and the award winning social enterprise, Riders for Health, has now been recognised by the Aspen Institutes’ Global Leaders Council for Reproductive health. Chaired by Mary Robinson, the release added, the Global Leader’s Council named The Gambia winner in the finance category of its annual Resolve Award, for the innovative and groundbreaking way that it is ensuring that it has a reliable fleet of health care vehicles.

“Transport is the weak link in health care in Africa. Over 60% of people in Africa live five miles from a health centre. People in rural, isolated villages rely on health centre. People in rural, isolated villages rely on health care workers being able to reach them, but health workers lack the reliable transport. The result is that children go without lifesaving vaccinations and in many countries up to one woman in 12 dies in childbirth because health care workers can’t reach them- or they can’t get to hospital,” the press release further revealed.