How a Mozambican expat in Saskatchewan designed a motorcycle ambulance to help improve maternal health in his homeland.
It’s a problem that plagues Mozambique.
The southern African nation has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, at 489 deaths per 100,00 live births (compared to seven deaths per 100,000 live births in Canada), and in places such as Nampula province in the country’s north, it’s not uncommon for women to die simply because they can’t get to the hospital in time to deliver their babies.
Local communities in Nampula went looking for solutions to this access-to-care problem, eventually deciding to focus on community-owned motorcycle ambulances that could quickly transport women to hospitals from remote locations over poor roads. Read more in Canadian Geographic.