Today, the New York Times launched an excellent series called Fixes, co-written by veteran storyteller of social entrepreneurs, David Bornstein. (A thank you to my colleague, Carey, for referring me here.) The inaugural article highlights the use of motorcycles by healthcare workers to reach people in rural areas, a significant challenge in some of the poorest and most under-resources countries in the world. I’m most impressed by the article’s recognition that the vehicle is not, in fact, the innovation; it is the maintenance and system surrounding the vehicle.
Bornstein and Rosenberg write:
There’s nothing new about donating vehicles for health care in Africa. Many organizations do it. But often these vehicles fall apart. Barry Coleman says that unmanaged, a vehicle in Africa will usually have a major breakdown after 8 months of use and be junked entirely by 15 months. This is a classic problem in development: everybody wants to play the white knight coming to the rescue with the quick fix — the water pump, the $100 laptop, the motorcycle. But the tougher challenge is developing a cost-effective system to keep things working.
My organization, mothers2mothers, is also a recipient of vehicles from Riders for Health. We have experienced the challenge of working in rural areas and the notion of mobile Mentor Mothers was conceived in 2008, with several Mothers receiving training in the last year. The m2m Mothers travel to outlying areas to encourage pregnant women living with HIV to attend antenatal care, providing treatment that will prevent transmission to their babies.
A “fix” is not a solution, it’s a tweak that will make the solution work better. In the case of motorcycles for health, lack of access is preventing people from availing themselves of known and efficacious healthcare. Let’s not pretend that the “fix” is the solution, but let’s keep seeking the small elements that can ensure that our solutions work better.