Resource: Motorcycles for Health

Print Background Essay

One truth about engineering is that no single design solution is appropriate for all circumstances. A massive steel beam designed to support the floor of a skyscraper would be a poor choice for a suburban home. A concrete dam designed to hold back a large reservoir would be inappropriate for redirecting the flow of a small stream. In a similar way, a gleaming, state-of-the-art ambulance designed for smooth city streets is of little long-term benefit to the people of the West African nation of The Gambia.

Engineering designs must not only provide the appropriate solution for each circumstance, but they must do so in the most efficient, effective, and sustainable manner possible. The design process helps to ensure such positive outcomes. Throughout this process, and long before a solution is implemented, engineers carefully consider such things as the scale of a challenge, the size of a project's budget, and the availability of resources to build and maintain a project. This helps to ensure that the greatest good will come from a design solution.

Such considerations are especially significant in developing countries such as The Gambia, which lack the more reliable resources available in countries such as the United States. For example, the budgets for health projects in poor countries are nearly always small. In addition, the size of The Gambia's health problem is daunting — most people live far from a hospital, and a single health worker might serve thousands of patients. Thus, a solution that helps as many people as possible for the least amount of money will have the greatest benefit.

For one health organization, Riders for Health, the solution to The Gambia's lack of ambulances came in the form of motorcycles with sidecars. These vehicles are inexpensive, quick, and able to maneuver the rough African roads. However, one problem remained to make this solution beneficial in the long term. Like other developing nations, The Gambia lacked resources to effectively maintain the motorcycles Riders for Health relied upon. In response, the organization created a system that would provide replacement parts and instruction on motorcycle repair to its health care workers. Making such a system part of the Riders for Health design solution will enable the program to continue to serve its vital function for years to come.

To learn more about the efforts of engineers to provide solutions to health care problems in developing countries, check out Simple Solutions.

To learn more about health crises in sub-Saharan Africa, check out A Mutation Story.

Print Questions for Discussion

• What was the need that resulted in the Riders for Health vehicle?
• What did Riders for Health have to take into account in order for their solution to be an effective, reliable method of delivering health care to this community?
• Why is using a motorcycle for transportation a good solution for this community?
• What is being done to ensure that the solution — motorcycles that can transport health care workers and patients — is one that can be sustained by a community or individual?