Motorcycle training for health workers in Nigeria

Global Giving report- Motorcycle Training in Nigeria

Over the past 25 years Riders for Health has shown that reliable motorcycles can provide a critical tool in preventing and halting the outbreak of disease. A prime example of this is the development of a unique motorcycle courier service to tackle one of the unseen challenges in health care delivery: the transportation of patient samples from health centres to laboratories, and the timely return of results. It might sound obvious, but without this link patients cannot get the diagnosis they need to start life-saving treatment. But Rider’s Sample Transport service is turning this situation around. Building of the success of programmes in Lesotho, Zambia and Zimbabwe, in 2012 we expanded this system into seven districts of rural Malawi.

Thanks to Riders’ Sample Transport service, for 4.2 million women, men and children in rural Malawi, getting that diagnosis is now much easier.

Replicating success to keep Liberia Ebola-free

As the world responded to the Ebola crisis throughout the last year, Liberia became overwhelmed by emergency medical assistance yet the prominent lack of reliable transport weakened the ability to rapidly respond. Available health services could be not be accessed by those in further away villages. During the outbreak, there was a need of reliable transport for delivering blood samples for diagnosing patients, referring patients to health centres and the monitoring and education of communities. Yet the weak health system could not respond to the demand.

After discussions with the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Riders now operate on national scale in the country. Our motorcycle couriers serve all 15 counties in Liberia driving down uncovered tracks to reach and connect with 268 health facilities. Mobilising a reliable health system, Riders are ensuring a rapid turnaround of patient samples from health centre to laboratory, ensuring fast diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Further, Riders have established a comprehensive and well-managed health fleet of motorcycles, ambulances and trekking vehicles that can ensure that even the most rural communities can be reached with essential health care. With sustainability at the crux of an organisation, our programme continues to train more drivers and ensure that our vehicle remain well-maintained.

Riders are proud to be providing the missing link to mobilise health care within this disaster-affected area, as Andrea Coleman, our Founder, expressed at the programme’s launch:

‘The Ebola outbreak showed the world what Riders for Health has been saying for a long time – reliable transport really is essential to a strong health system. Without the means to reach the most rural communities with health care and advice, diseases will continue to spread. We are delighted that we are able to extend our reach and work closely with the Liberian Ministry of Health to develop a strong transport system for delivering the country’s health care needs.’

The Liberian Ministry of Health have nominated Riders for the prestigious Hilton Humanitarian Award, for an outstanding contribution to the alleviation of human suffering.

Mobilising health workers in Nigeria

Riders has been operating in Nigeria since 1999 and currently maintain 370 vehicles for the delivery of health care to those in most need. Amongst those in most need of reliable health care are HIVaffected individuals. Because of the mobilisation of health care delivery by our riders anti-retroviral drugs can be distributed from central locations to regional health centres in more remote locations. This means that regular administration of vital treatment can happen, health workers are kept, and remain, on the road ensuring that health care delivery remains available to all.

Recently, 6 further community health workers have been mobilised thanks to Riders. Responsible for key public health interventions, (health education, immunisations, disease surveillance and homebased care) community health workers are ensuring that communities are kept disease-free, preventing rural communities from easily treated and prevented diseases. For instance, malaria remains a threat to rural communities, yet because of our mobilised community health workers, disease prevention measures such mosquito nets and rapid diagnostic testing are easily distributed across rural communities. This supply-chain service provided by our health workers is supporting Nigeria’s National Malaria Elimination Programme, working to halt the spread of easily preventable and treatable diseases.

Our health workers are also working to improve access to maternal and child health services for an estimated 197,632 women in rural Nigeria. Our managed vehicles are used to mobilise outreach care. Emergency referrals for the safe transportation of pregnant woman and their birth attendant to hospital can happen because of our reliable, maintained vehicles. Community-level referrals can occur reliably and quickly with well-maintained vehicles ensuring that women are kept safe during delivery and new-born babies receive immediate health care they deserve. In particular, in the summer Riders launched a pilot project to introduce managed transportation to mobilise integrated maternal, newborn and child health services in support of Nigeria’s Midwives Service Scheme.

Riders for Health UK update

After a long and inspiring history, Riders for Health in the UK will be closing in the coming weeks.

The past two years have been difficult financially for Riders for Health UK and we have been unable to secure enough income to cover our operating costs. Great efforts have been made to turn this situation around, reducing expenses, cutting the size of our UK team and assessing all possible ways forward, including exploring the opportunity for a partnership or merger. None of these has proved sufficient however to secure the long-term future of the UK office and as a consequence, the Riders board of trustees has taken the difficult decision to close. 

Despite this being a sad time for everyone associated with Riders UK, our priority has always been to safeguard Riders for Health’s programmes in Africa. Although the UK office will close, we are pleased to say that the Riders for Health’s programmes in Liberia, The Gambia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya and Malawi will continue, ensuring that vital healthcare continues to reach the remote African communities who so urgently need it.

We would like to thank you, along with all of our generous donors and supporters who have contributed to Riders’ success over the past 25 years. To our loyal volunteers and followers, not to mention the generosity and warmth of the international motorcycling community from where Riders for Heath was born, we would like to express our deep appreciation and thanks. And, of course, the Founders, Andrea and Barry Coleman and Randy Mamola, without whose vision and energy Riders for Health would not have existed. The support received through Riders UK, that we hope our programmes will continue to receive, has been enormously valued and the legacy of this support will live on through Riders for Health’s programmes in Africa.