Improve Emergency Care with Ambulance Motorcycles in Burundi
Donation protected
In Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world, access to medical care is often severely restricted. Especially in rural areas, there is a lack of fast and efficient medical assistance and pregnant women are particularly affected. The maternal mortality ratio in Burundi is around 78 times higher than in Germany. This is where ambulance motorcycles can make a decisive difference.
As part of an international university cooperation, we, as a team of three students from Germany and three students from Burundi and Burkina Faso, would like to launch a project that has been specially developed for these regions. At the DHBW Stuttgart, we are currently designing electric ambulance motorcycles that are adapted to the local conditions in Burundi. The motorcycles are equipped with medical equipment and a midwife's case and are also designed for poor road conditions. They are to be powered by solar hubs, which we want to develop locally, so that they are not dependent on petrol - as this is also often in short supply in Burundi.
In a second project phase starting in July, we want to use the motorcycles locally in Burundi. The long-term goal is to transfer all steps of the value chain to Burundi. We will therefore develop a local deployment strategy, as well as a long-term financing strategy. The idea for the initial phase is to purchase used motorcycles locally and equip them with an electric motor so that they can then be used in rural communities. In this way, we want to create local jobs in both the installation and medical sectors, for example by training midwives, and offer a holistic approach to improving the quality of life. They are a low-cost and effective solution for bringing medical care to hard-to-reach areas. Not only can these motorcycles get there faster, but they can also travel on the narrow and unpaved roads that are impassable for larger vehicles.
Why Ambulance Motorcycles?
- Speed: Motorcycles can move faster through traffic and reach remote areas more quickly than conventional ambulances.
- Accessibility: You can also drive in difficult-to-access, mountainous or narrow streets where normal ambulances cannot go.
- Costs: They are significantly cheaper to purchase and maintain than traditional ambulances.
- Flexibility: motorcycles can be fitted with medical equipment to provide first aid and transport patients safely to the nearest hospital.
Our goals:
- Acquisition and equipping of 5 ambulance motorcycles: Each motorcycle will be equipped with the necessary medical equipment to stabilize and transport emergency patients.
- Training of local employees: We want to ensure that local medical professionals are trained in the use of motorcycles and first aid.
- Sustainability and maintenance: By producing locally and using used motorcycles, we want to break colonial dependencies.
According to the current state of development, a fully equipped ambulance motorcycle on site costs us €1500, and we will ultimately need five motorcycles to provide medical care to a first community on site.
Your donation will help to save the medical care and thus the lives of many mothers.
Organizer
Noah Steinkrüger
Organizer
Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg