In Uganda, a tougher bicycle offers hope for better health coverage in rural areas

LIRA, Uganda -- The bicycle parked successful Lucy Abalo’s compound doesn’t beryllium to her. Any 1 of the hundreds of radical successful her colony tin amusement up and inquire to usage it.

A antheral mightiness privation to instrumentality his large woman for a checkup. A pistillate mightiness request transport to prime up HIV medication. An injured kid mightiness request a travel to a hospital.

“The goodness astir this bike,” Abalo said, is its availability to all.

She is 1 of dozens of “village doctors” successful agrarian Uganda who precocious were supplied with the Buffalo Bicycle, truthful called due to the fact that its alloy parts are reinforced to execute successful areas with atrocious roads.

World Bicycle Relief, a Chicago-based nonprofit, promotes the Buffalo Bicycle successful distant parts of Africa. It collaborates with governments, non-governmental groups and others who usage the bikes to amended entree to wellness services.

In Uganda, an eastbound African state of 45 cardinal people, efforts to marketplace the bicycle person focused connected supporting wellness workers similar Abalo, who visits people’s homes and reports immoderate issues to authorities.

As a assemblage wellness hold worker, oregon CHEW, she has gained the spot of villagers, who tin sound connected her doorway successful exigency situations. She said she helps to look aft astir 8,000 radical successful the area.

And astatine slightest doubly a week, she is required to study to a government-run wellness halfway astir 5 kilometers (3 miles) distant and assistance with triaging patients.

Ugandan wellness authorities admit that 1 situation for CHEWs is transportation, portion of a larger load of poorness that tin permission wellness facilities lacking ambulances oregon adjacent state to determination them.

World Bicycle Relief, operating locally arsenic Buffalo Bicycles Uganda, has collaborated with Ugandan wellness authorities since 2023 to equip 331 CHEWs successful 2 of the country's 146 districts. One is Lira, 442 kilometers (274 miles) northbound of the capital, Kampala.

Bicycles person agelong been ubiquitous, and galore families thin to person one. Cultural norms successful bluish Uganda don’t prohibit women from riding. While the roads successful Lira municipality are paved, ungraded paths pb into the bosom of the territory wherever farming is the main economical activity.

The Buffalo Bicycle is simply a caller arrival. Many person ne'er heard of it, oregon can't spend it. Retailing for astir $200, it is 3 times much costly than the cheapest regular bicycle — different retired of scope for galore CHEWs, who bash not yet gain a salary.

The bike's promoters mention its durability successful unsmooth terrain, needing less trips to the mechanic arsenic a mode to prevention money.

The Buffalo Bicycle's heavy-gauge alloy framework is truthful beardown that it comes with a five-year warranty, said Amuza Ali, a monitoring serviceman successful Lira for Buffalo Bicycles Uganda.

Abalo and others told the AP the Buffalo Bicycle felt uncomfortable to usage successful the beginning, with a braking strategy that doesn’t licence carefree backpedaling.

“When I climbed connected it, it wasn’t that casual arsenic I thought,” Abalo said. “I was like, ‘I americium trying again to larn however to ride.’”

CHEWs utilizing the bicycles reported a 108% summation successful households reached each week, and the clip to scope wellness facilities dropped by astir half, according to a survey published successful May by World Bicycle Relief.

The survey shows that “mobility is not a luxury successful healthcare” but a lifeline, CEO Dave Neiswander said successful a connection released for the report.

Diana Atwine, imperishable caput astatine the Ministry of Health, has urged the organisation of bicycles to much CHEWs crossed Uganda, saying front-line wellness workers prevention an chartless fig of lives each year.

Abalo received her Buffalo Bicycle from the wellness curate past year.

One of her neighbors, Babra Akello, said she has utilized the bicycle astatine slightest six times already. The archetypal was for transport to an antenatal checkup. She praised Abalo’s willingness to help.

The motorcycle has besides been utilized for emergencies. One evening earlier this year, a neighbor’s 4-year-old kid suffered a heavy chopped portion playing successful the dirt. With the child’s parents away, Abalo transported the bleeding lad to a installation wherever helium concisely mislaid consciousness earlier being revived.

“That bike, not me, saved the beingness of that child,” Abalo said. “If that motorcycle hadn’t been there, I don’t cognize what would person happened.”

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