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News/Event Item
Global Health Council Honors Riders for Health
Press Release
Contacts: Riders for Health
rharrington@riders.org
Global Health Council
tfisher@globalhealth.org
17 May 2005
Global Health Council honors Riders for Health with Best Practices Award
The ground-breaking development work of Riders for Health has been recognized by the Global Health Council, which has named the British-based NGO as the 2005 recipient of its award for Best Practices in Global Health. Andrea and Barry Coleman, co-founders and joint-CEOs of Riders, will accept the prestigious award on June 2 in Washington, D.C. at a special ceremony at the Global Health Council's 32nd annual international conference, Health Systems: Putting Pieces Together.
The Best Practices in Global Health Award is given annually to highlight and celebrate successful and innovative efforts on the ground dedicated to improving the health of disadvantaged and disenfranchised populations, and to recognize programs that effectively address the link between health, poverty and development. Recipients of the award are selected for their ability to exhibit measurable results in the field, as well as the ability and expertise to share, inspire and extend best practices for improving health.
Riders for Health has worked for 15 years on the problem of health care delivery systems in Africa. It is a unique not-for-profit organization taking practical steps to create a system of transport infrastructure to allow vital health care services to reach millions of people in rural communities isolated by distance, hostile conditions and poverty. Riders' mission is to ensure that motorized vehicles used for the delivery of health care and associated development are appropriate and available for the maximum time at the minimum cost.
"In Africa, the challenges of improving health are inextricably linked to the challenges in reaching far-flung rural populations with critical services and supplies," said Dr. Nils Daulaire, president and CEO of the Global Health Council. "Poor roads and the high cost of maintaining and running vehicles has made it all the harder for Africa to climb out of its cycle of poverty and disease. Riders for Health has shown that it is indeed possible to put in place basic, reliable and low-cost transportation to the most remote areas, which in turn means more children and families will receive the care and attention they so desperately need."
"The people of Africa are dying of easily-preventable diseases - cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS - and, if that's not enough, exhaustion and malnutrition," said Andrea Coleman. "It's no wonder the average life expectancy has dropped below 40 years. Does this desperate, scandalous situation prevail because the global health community does not know how to prevent these diseases? No. It's because rural communities cannot be reached on a reliable and predictable basis."
"Public health workers have the necessary expertise to radically improve the health of people living in Africa," continued Andrea, "they focus not on curative health but on preventive measures. But even low-tech interventions like mosquito nets, sanitation, and health education will not make a sustained difference until reliable mechanical transportation is available to all those who need it. Riders' programs are models that can be applied anywhere in Africa, by African nationals, to make a sustainable impact on development across the continent. Large-scale replication of our system would give the Millennium Development Goals and other development initiatives a real chance to succeed."
The presentation of the award will be made at the annual awards banquet during the Global Health Council's 32nd annual international conference, Health Systems: Putting Pieces Together. World health leaders and nearly 2,000 participants from more than 85 nations will attend the international global health conference.
Notes to editors:
1. Riders for Health are long-established experts in transport for development. We have worked for 15 years on the problem of delivery systems for health care in Africa. We work with ministries of health, UN agencies and NGOs, while our program staff are all nationals of the countries in which we work. Riders has logistical support programs with national coverage in Nigeria, the Gambia and Zimbabwe. We have a smaller, satellite program in Kenya.
2. The Global Health Council is the world's largest membership alliance dedicated to saving lives by improving health throughout the world. The Council serves and represents thousands of public health professionals over one hundred countries on six continents.
3. Images from the awards ceremony will be available.
4. Case-studies and images from Riders' programs are also available.
5. In 2004 Riders co-founders Andrea and Barry Coleman were inducted into the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship (sister organization to the World Economic Forum). Interviews can be arranged.
For further information on Riders for Health:
http://www.riders.org
View this Press Release in PDF format (124K)
category: Global Health Council News : Announcements
contributed by Andrea Welch on 25 May 2005
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