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| tags: | #Tanzania, #NGO, #medical care, #green technology |
|---|---|
| located: | Tanzania |
| by: | Yair Oded |
Across Sub Saharan Africa, innovative technologies contribute to the improvement of health services. Particularly in remote rural areas, where poor infrastructure, lack of expertise, and inadequate government policies often sever people’s access to proper care and medication, such technologies truly save lives.
The Okoa Project is a nonprofit initiative whose goal is to connect people with medical care through community knowledge.
Operating in Tanzania, the Okoa Project was formed through a collaboration of engineers and local community leaders, who together sought to tackle the issue of transportation in medical emergencies and create ‘context-specific’ solutions in order to facilitate healthcare access in rural communities.
“Transportation is one of the top two reasons people around the world are unable to receive medical care,” the Okoa Project’s website reads. “The funds and vehicles do not exist in rural areas to navigate the terrain to the clinic without exacerbating health issues.”
To tackle this problem, the organisation engineered a motorcycle ambulance trailer that attaches to the back of motorcycles and can carry medical supplies, a patient in a removable stretcher, and a passenger to accompany them.
The ambulance trailer combines three essential design criteria: safety, comfort and sustainability. Rigorously tested for safety before being released into the community, the ambulance includes first aid kit, a birthing kit, and a contingency kit on board. It is manufactured from locally sourced materials, easily attaches to any motorcycle, and transforms into a mobile health clinic.
With a robust suspension system, the ambulance trailer can endure and function in tough weather and topography conditions, including poorly maintained roads.
The Okoa Project is an example for the kind of innovation that can significantly improve the living conditions in developing countries, fusing advanced technology, sustainable production and operation methods, and community-oriented approaches.
Please visit their website to join their team or pledge a donation.
Image: The Okoa Project
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