Skoll Entrepreneur(s): Andrea and Barry Coleman
Change(s) Addressed: Health

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DESCRIPTION:

Andrea and Barry Coleman share a passion for motorcycles. Andrea is a former racer and Barry is a successful journalist and author. Through the racing world, they became involved in fundraising for children in Africa. In 1988, on a visit to Somalia, Barry was unable to reach his destination because his car broke down. That day, he noticed broken vehicles everywhere. On a later trip, he and Andrea saw women in childbirth being carried to the hospital in wheelbarrows. Frustrated that aid agencies abandoned vehicles rather than making basic repairs, the Colemans remortgaged their house and founded Riders for Health (Riders) in 1996 to provide practical solutions to transportation problems in Africa.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS OF 2010

• A sustainable, scalable transportation infrastructure for health care delivery — however hostile the conditions — implemented in 7 countries to provide 11 million people with access to health care.
• A non-profit vehicle-leasing model in partnership with the Skoll Foundation. This macro-finance model meets the needs of African ministries of health. The model works in the Gambia, enabling the Ministry of Health to reach the entire population of 1.7 million with its public health services, including maternal health, immunisation and distribution of bed nets.
• A professional motorcycle courier service, in partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, to ensure rapid, reliable and cost-effective logistics for samples (specimens) between clinics and laboratories. Now adopted on a national scale in Lesotho, it has significantly improved the take-up of antiretroviral drugs by women and children of the countries concerned.

SEE THEIR WORK IN ACTION: