Situation
What problem does the design
address?
Many of the homes and villages in rural sub-Saharan Africa
are very isolated, and travel in these areas is often slow. As a
result, many people in this region have a difficult time getting
to a hospital or clinic when they need medical help. There are no
ambulances and people have died because they were unable to get medical
attention quickly during an emergency.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the area of Africa that lies
south of Sahara Desert (see map at left). Across this vast area,
more than 65% of the people live on farms and in villages, with large
distances between them. Buses and other forms of mass transportation
are in short supply, and less than 1% of the population owns a car
or truck. Besides walking, bicycles are the primary means of transportation.
People also use wheelbarrows, donkeys and
carts – both
hand-pulled and animal-drawn – to get around. In general, people
in rural Africa walk and carry their burdens using their own strength.
If a person is sick or injured and unable to walk, getting medical
attention can be very difficult, if not impossible.
The Bicycle Ambulance is a humanitarian project
that responds to the problem of rural isolation during a medical
emergency. It combines a common form of transportation in Africa – the
bicycle – with
a means of safely and comfortably transporting people who are sick
or injured.
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