Many Africans are accustomed to walking everywhere, every day. In remote areas health care workers have no means of transportation and thus serve only 2- 3 people on a given day. Bicycles offer a good alternative and can be easily maintained. While people in the Western world discard thousands each year, bicycles are not affordable or even available in poor rural areas.
The INSTITUTE FOR TRANSPORTATION & DEVELOPMENT POLICY (ITDP) working in Uganda and Tanzania, and Bicycles for Humanity /Colorado (B4H) with partners in Namibia, are improving health in these regions by providing bicycles to health care workers. Bikes allow workers to cover four times more ground and make four times the number of patient visits. Health personnel can also distribute medications and prevention information more quickly. Bikes also aid health care workers in organizing immunization campaigns and outreach programs. B4H restores used bikes, periodically shipping a container-full; the shipping container is then used as a bicycle repair shop. Those that are not used by health care workers are sold to support the clinic. To date, over 900 bicycles have made a lifesaving difference through the combined efforts of these organizations.
$210 /165 - One bicycle ambulance or regular bike for a medical clinic
$33 - One restored bike shipped to Namibia