Focus on Healthcare Workers- Sierra Leone

In addition to using the bikes to travel to the hospital where they work, many are also using bikes to see patients in rural areas. Half of the team above are using their bikes to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to communities surrounding the hospital.

Currently many areas of Africa are undervaccinated not only because of limited access to vaccines but also due to vaccine skepticism, a challenge many volunteer health workers are working to overcome. The less vaccinated a nation, the more coronavirus will continue to spread and mutate. In more remote areas of Africa this is an even greater concern due to limited treatments and facilities available.

It is also important to note that before the current pandemic, these rural healthcare workers were committed to delivering care and vital information regarding other deadly infections and viruses such as malaria, AIDS/HIV, and Ebola. Because of the recent lockdowns and restrictions to protect against the spread of coronavirus, there have been significant drops in diagnoses, referrals for care, and treatments in many areas of healthcare. Moving forward, with COVID demanding a cut of health budgets and resources, the success of these programs remains threatened. Continued in person care and home visits are critical and bikes have proven safe and effective to those individuals providing care to rural patients.