Leaders in empowering the healthcare community across Africa, Riders for Health expertly overcomes logistical obstacles with a comprehensive, reliable transport system that delivers critical supplies to the continent’s hardest-to-reach areas. We explore its pioneering solutions.
RIDING HIGH IN AFRICAN HEALTH
The efficient delivery of healthcare persists as a critical challenge for Africa’s most inaccessible areas, perpetuated by a limited network of road and transport infrastructure that become major barriers to the supply of vital medical supplies and healthcare professionals.
Indeed, private transport is hard to obtain across the continent due to high operational costs and unreliability, particularly for areas outside of major cities.
What little there is of the road network suffers from rough terrain which, compounded with minimal driver training, makes for a highly laborious task when delivering even the most basic healthcare supplies.
Evidently, many African healthcare facilities still have a long way to go before they can establish central distribution hubs, causing remote communities across Africa to routinely suffer from limited stock of essential medicines and care.
These factors culminate in an increasingly unstable and sparse healthcare supply chain, making the provision of basic medical amenities such as immunisations, bed nets, birth control, and medications incredibly challenging.
Ready to tackle these continent-wide barriers head on, Riders for Health (Riders) strives to boost the delivery of African healthcare by providing world-class transport management services, ensuring both medical personnel and supplies are distributed quickly and reliably to previously inaccessible populations.
As an African social enterprise, Riders’ comprehensive transport system was purposefully built to overcome obstacles specific to the continent, operating across The Gambia, Nigeria, Malawi, Lesotho, and many other African nations.
With over three decades of experience, the organisation has cultivated a vast network of healthcare provider partners, comprising both governmental and non-governmental organisations who, by working with Riders, have access to reliable transport solutions to deliver healthcare wherever it is needed.
As such, the company strives to create a world in which the healthcare supply chain works sufficiently for everyone, everywhere.
LAST AND EVERY MILE DISTRIBUTION
Riders’ comprehensive fleet management solutions expertly facilitate effective health transport services across Africa at a sustainable cost.
This is achieved by building a reliable transport system and supporting infrastructure that fosters a robust network of medical supplies and healthcare staff.
Managing a vast fleet of motorcycles allows healthcare workers to travel to remote locations and provide critical services such as disease detection and prevention, as well as numerous follow-up appointments.
It collaborates with partners across the entire lifecycle of healthcare delivery, from the initial planning and budgeting stages to procuring and replacing vehicles and training riders.
The organisation’s fleet management solution also includes preventative maintenance services that avoid vehicle failures for the duration of their use. Its services additionally provide a reliable supply of high-quality replacement parts, ensuring dependable delivery when it is needed most.
More from Supply Chain Outlook
Thanks to the work of Riders, various outreach clinics have been established which provide immunisation, pre- and post-natal services, water testing, health education programmes, HIV/AIDS testing, and much more, guaranteeing effective disease prevention and surveillance.
With the steadfast belief that reliable ambulances are the foundation of a strong emergency referral system, Riders’ likewise offers a world-class fleet of ambulances and route planning and budgeting solutions, addressing issues like limited access to correctly equipped vehicles, minimal maintenance systems, and fuel shortages.
TRUSTED AND SECURE TRANSPORT
The challenge of transporting highly sensitive samples to medical laboratories across the continent additionally persists as an acute challenge.
Bridging the gap in the continent’s medical supply deficiencies, Riders pioneers sample transport services for leading health organisations across sub-Saharan Africa.
The organisation specialises in the transportation of more than one million biohazardous substances and test results, which typically degrade quickly and are highly sensitive, particularly over long distances in extreme weather conditions.
Samples are transported in a timely and secure manner using a motorcycle courier system, which is highly distinguished thanks to the expertise of Riders’ team who leverage decades of industry knowledge and experience to select the most suitable vehicles for the job.
The organisation additionally trains couriers to international standards in the safe handling of hazardous substances and guides them on how best to maintain their vehicles.
With the aim of secure and reliable healthcare at the core of the organisation’s operations, Riders’ state-of-the-art healthcare transport system continues to transform the lives of those in Africa’s hardest-to-reach communities and drives the continent’s medical landscape forwards.
