MONROVIA – Rider for Health Liberia, an international non-governmental organization that was established in Liberia in February 2015 in response to the Ebola outbreak, has called on the government and developmental partners to provide more assistance to ensure accurate health sample delivery system across the 15 counties.
During the outbreak, experts discovered that only one out of four samples made it to the lab to be tested within 24 hours; therefore, health experts decided to operate a fleet of nearly 60 motorbikes to transport those samples to the lab for testing and diagnosis which gives birth to Riders.
Riders for Health Liberia is also involved in repairing damage ambulances used by the government.
Joseph G. Mehdeh, Riders For Health Liberia Country Director at a news conference in Monrovia recently underscored the need for government and partners to continue to support the organization’s operations.
Mehdeh said for the past five years, Riders for Health has been providing professional transport health services across Liberia, adding that due to their professional and updated system put in place they have increased the delivery of samples from 24% to 85% .
He told reporters that as a means of providing further confidence and reliability in their operations to the public, they are now working with an exclusive Danish institution to freeze specified, modified and customized samples that have helped in preserving professionally the samples for real-time usage.
According to Mehdeh the current system put in place by Riders has the ability to transport samples in twenty-four hours from anywhere across the fifteen political subdivisions for rapid diagnostic purposes.
“This move is to help ensure that the nation and its people are safe health-wise,” Mehdeh told reporters.
Mehdeh said, “The need for support to one of our projects is now mainly because of the expiration of the Fleet Management project which is sponsored by the World Bank through the World Health Organization will climax in May 2020.”
He said under the fleet management project, Riders for Health has been able to bring up some non-functional ambulances that are currently in operation.
Mehdeh stressed the importance of health transportation, adding that in 2019 out of sixty ambulances in the field, they were able to track fifty-eight.
Riders for Health has six functional garages in Lofa, Bong, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Montserrado and Grand Bassa Counties.
