Project Summary
The Safe Motherhood Emergency Transport Scheme (ETS) has been established as part of wide programme of work to improve health services in Nigeria. The aim of the ETS is to reduce several key delays for women who need to access emergency obstetric care in pregnancy. We have helped to expand the ETS in Jigawa State, in the north of the country, with technical input from industry volunteers, by providing driver training for local taxi drivers and riders who volunteer their services in emergencies, and designing and building a motorcycle ambulance trailer for local manufacture. The scheme will be funded by communities, who will pay a small contribution towards the cost of fuel, and the upkeep of the trailer.
The Problem
The long distances to health facilities, high cost of using commercial transport in the event of an obstetric emergency, and the lack of available transport at night are all factors that contribute to a 1 in 40 risk of death during pregnancy in Nigeria.
The Process
Transaid is helping to extend this scheme through the development of an ambulance trailer that can be safely towed by a motorcycle. Motorcycle taxis are a common form of transport and volunteer motorcycle taxi union members will use the trailer to take women from remote villages to clinics in times of emergency. The truck manufacturer MAN ERF, in collaboration with their apprenticeship training provider S&B Training, have supported the design of the trailer and local manufacture of the trailer in Jigawa. Volunteers from the company travelled to Nigeria in June 2006 to help local manufacturers to interpret their design, and to assist with training for the riders. An additional component of the project involves minibus taxi drivers, who also volunteer to forgo more lucrative work to drive women to get help, and commercial driver trainers from logistics company Wincanton have provided training in driver safety and vehicle maintenance for their union members. You can read the MAN ERF volunteers' story here.
The Partners
The ETS is part of the Partnership for Transforming Health Systems (PATHS)project, which is funded by the UK Department for International Development and managed by Health Partners International. Wincanton, MAN ERF and S&B Training have provided technical input and four local workshops have been involved in the local manufacture of the trailer.
The Result
The motorcycle ambulance trailer design is currently being refined and tested in Nigeria. The next step is its official vehicle licensing, and then local manufacture can begin. Minibus driver union members have been trained, and they will go on to train their colleagues. The motorcycle union members are ready to participate in the scheme.
The Impact
The scheme can be replicable anywhere in Nigeria, as it uses locally available skills and materials. Ultimately, by providing pregnant women with the transport to get emergency treatment, they and their babies will have a better chance of survival.
