Five powerful scrambler motorbikes, complete with sidecar and padded bed, have been deployed by the Ministry of Health in south Sudan to boost access to health facilities for pregnant women.

The motorcycles, donated by UNICEF, cost about US$6,000 each, and specially built for negotiating rough rural terrain, has a specially constructed padded sidecar, with space for the patient to sit or lie down comfortably on the cushioned bed on wheels, and seat belts for legs and waist; while there is still space for a health worker to sit behind and provide care and support if needed. Moreover, the Motorbike ambulances are also cheaper and easier to maintain in remote areas.

Rural women, especially in Southern Sudan face a number of health challenges when pregnant, the region has the worst rates of maternal mortality in the world, Ninety percent of people live there on less than a dollar a day and many cannot afford transport to the clinics, moreover The Poor road conditions, and some live far from the tracks, so it is very hard for them to reach the clinics in time.

A woman in the South has a one in six chance of dying during the course of her lifetime from complications during pregnancy or child delivery, and only 10 percent of all deliveries in South Sudan are assisted by skilled health personnel, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Sudan’s overall maternal mortality ratio is 1,107 deaths per 100,000 live births, but rates are far higher in the South, rising to 2,243 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to UNICEF.

This new initiative in Sudan, has proven its effectiveness in many other African countries such as Malawi, Uganda eastern South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Zambia. In Malawi, for example, the motorbike ambulances, helped raise the number of women giving birth at health facilities from 25 to 49 percent over a period of four years, according to UNICEF.