Riders for Health

Overcoming obstacles of distance and terrain, Riders manages vehicles on a reliable, predictable and cost effective basis - supporting health-focused partners whose role is to reach rural communities with health care and other vital services. Riders has 20 years of experience and we have used this to create a sustainable infrastructure, run entirely by local people, in which vehicles are managed so that they run with ‘zero-breakdowns’ and keep health care on the road – no matter how isolated the location.

The Riders’ system is made up of five vital elements:
• Using the most appropriate and cost-effective vehicles for the terrain and job in hand.
• Servicing vehicles on an ‘outreach’ basis, sending technicians to where health workers are operating - reducing unnecessary ‘downtime’.
• Fitting replacement parts according to an agreed preventive maintenance schedule.
• Excellent training for the vehicle users in road safety, off road driving and daily maintenance procedures.
• Accurate and transparent costing on a not-for-profit basis.

Riders currently manages a variety of vehicles (motorcycles, ambulances and trekking vehicles) across seven sub-Saharan countries and mobilises over
1,000 health workers. The result is that 12 million men, women and children now have improved access to regular healthcare.