Supporting Healthcare Delivery in Lesotho Through Covid-19
Lesotho reported its first case of COVID-19 on 13th May, the last African country to do so. But now numbers are rising and a steady number of deaths are being reported daily. Two Wheels have been able to support the Lesotho programme with motorcycles, ambulances, digital services and additional staff.
Supported by Two Wheels for Life, Riders for Health in Lesotho provides sample transport services across the entire country, usually focusing on HIV and TB. Now with the outbreak of Covid-19 the programme is needed to transport Covid-19 samples and test results which are essential to prevent spread of this disease.
We have had to stretch our service, usually focusing on HIV and TB, to incorporate the special requirements of coronavirus testing, and cover urgently needed monitoring and tracking of the virus so that the government is alerted to hotspots and can contain the virus.”
Riders are also providing transport, digital tools and PPE to health workers who provide contact tracing and monitoring of quarantine facilities, and are recruiting and training additional sample transporters to take on the extra workload.
Two Wheels for Life has supported Riders through the crisis. So far we have provided:
- Eight motorbikes to use for sample transportation
- Two ambulances for emergency transport patients from rural areas to health facilities
- Funding a temporary member or senior staff to help us maintain our high standards in vehicle maintenance during this difficult time.
Two Wheels are also providing much needed help to Riders programmes in Nigeria, Liberia, Malawi and The Gambia.
“We are grateful to the motorcycle racing community for supporting us via Two Wheels for Life. We couldn’t do what we do without their incredible help, particularly at these extremely challenging times.”
“We are grateful to the motorcycle racing community for supporting us via Two Wheels for Life. We couldn’t do what we do without their incredible help, particularly at these extremely challenging times.”Riders for Health’s countrywide network of sample couriers gives an advantage to the country in tackling a deadly virus like Covid-19 . But tackling a new virus with many unknown properties is a huge challenge, and additional resources are needed to ensure we can help the Lesotho government fight this deadly disease and prevent it from spreading to a vulnerable population.
The programme’s priority now is upgrading the sample transport system for the specific needs of Covid-19 samples. For this they need more cold chain equipment which allows for uninterrupted refrigeration covering storage and transport of samples.
