Reliable last mile access for women in Kenya

A new $1m commitment being made today at the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York will improve access to health care for 5m people in Kenya.Award winning social enterprise, Riders for Health, aim to mobilise outreach health workers on motorcycles and health teams on trekking vehicles and ambulances which will enable their partners to reach up to five times more people with regular health care.A failure to reach rural communities remains a significant challenge which continues to plague efforts to prove equitable access to health care and improve maternal and women's health.Social or cultural barriers often prevent women and girls from visiting health centres, even when they know they need help. In rural communities, where people lack any means of transport, families rely on outreach health workers to bring health care to them.Mobilised by Riders, health organisations can provide this critical link in ensuring vital services reach women and girls on a regular basis and offer support with prevention, treatment and emergency care.Riders for Health will build a network of maintenance units and train local technicians to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of health transport throughout Kenya's Nyanza Province.Riders for Health KenyaAs well as improving health care for women in rural communities, Riders for Health's commitment will increase employment and skills for women. Beyond mobilising female health workers, Riders' programmes support women directly by employing female technicians and encouraging female management to run programmes.Riders for Health will need $1m to make this commitment possible, and has already raised 25% of the funding needed and believes it has a strong proposition for global health organisations who are currently limited in their ability to achieving their health objectives because they cannot access rural communities.Andrea Coleman, Riders for Health's CEO and co-founder, said 'Without transport, health care will not reach people in rural communities. Reliable transport has to be at the heart of strengthening systems. Riders for Health's last Commitment to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative has improved health care in the Gambia for 1.7m people, Riders for Health is now making clear our determination to increase health care access for 5m people in Kenya'.Zimbabwe health workerRiders for Health's 2007 Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action has resulted in a successful partnership in the Gambia between Riders, the ministry of health, the Gambian branch of a Nigerian bank, and the US based Skoll Foundation. This groundbreaking transport programme is helping health workers reach all areas of the country, improving access to health care for 1.7m people. The impact of this full-service vehicle leasing programme has now been recognised with the 2012 Best Transport Achievement Award at the Fleet Forum Annual Conference in Geneva.Riders' programmes are based on innovative financial models. The not-for profit business approach involves charging clients for the use of vehicles on a cost-per-kilometre basis, ensuring governments can budget effectively and transparently. It also makes the system a corruption-proof solution for donors.Riders for Health has 20 years of experience working with ministries of health, international NGOs, bilateral agencies, community based organisations and the private sector in Africa to put in place systems of maintenance, logistics and training to make sure reliable health care can be delivered successfully to 12m people, even in rural communities. Riders for Health manages vehicles for the delivery of health care in the Gambia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Lesotho, Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania.The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes leaders to turn ideas into action. CGI Commitments to Action represent bold new ways that CGI members address global challenges—implemented through new methods of partnership and designed to maximize impact. Commitments can be small or large, global or local. No matter the size or scope, commitments help CGI members translate practical goals into meaningful and measurable results.Watch the videoCommunication Riders for Health - www.riders.org -

Source: http://www.fim-live.com/en/media/news/news-detail/article/1349251110-reliable-last-mile-access-for-women-in-kenya/

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