Motorbike ambulances bridge health gap in Uganda

In a rural town far off Uganda’s capital Kampala lays beautiful Ugandan hills where a number of people live. However, the roads in the hills are in poor condition and the use of motorbikes is the daily norm.

Furthermore, motorbikes are acting like ambulances to bridge a serious health gap.

“Since the arrival of this motorbike ambulance in this village, we had recorded a single case of death. Currently the sick that we have transported to the hospital are out of danger. If someone falls sick, they just have to call me on phone,” said Moses Wombogo, an ambulance rider.

The services of the motorbike ambulances are helping to reduce mortality rates in the country’s rural communities.

“This intervention of the motorbike ambulances was one of those in our thinking which is going to change the status quo of maternal health and child health services in the district,” said Dr. Jean-Baptiste Wainye.

According to UNICEF, motorbike ambulances are vital paramedic services in rural communities. These services are found in several countries around the world.