2005 Cairo-to-Cape Town Tour d’Afrique Bicycle Expedition Concludes

Posted: 01 Aug 2005

Related to: Healthcare Logistics in Africa, Bridging Distances: Healthcare & Transport,
Contributed by: Aimée Gauthier

The Tour d’Afrique concluded its 11,500-kilometer course on May 15, 2005 in Cape Town, South Africa. A unique cycling expedition and race, the Tour starts in Egypt and heads south through the Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia and finally South Africa.

The Tour d’Afrique is not only a platform for individuals to pit their strength against the road and each other, it also aims to raise awareness around the issues of sustainable transportation and the promotion of the preservation of African wilderness and biodiversity. In a partnership between the Tour, ITDP, Bicycling Empowerment Network, the Rotary Netherlands, and CAPAIDS, over 130 bicycles were donated to health care workers all alone the route.

Peer educators, home based care providers, and nurses are using the bikes to get to work more easily, in less time, and less tired. The bikes are helping them with their outreach and community based care services, allowing them to reach a greater number of people across a greater distance.

The National Council of Women in Kenya identified local women’s organizations addressing HIV/AIDS to which the bicycles were donated to help with home based care and educational outreach. Recognizing the harmful impact of pollution and congestion upon the mental and physical health of the poor, the National Council supports alternative transportation options, especially in cities. They are especially eager to work on accessibility in the slums where roads are poor or almost non-existent and where a bicycle is the only affordable means of transport within the reach of the people who live there.

In Tanzania, Isoko and Mbozi Mission Hospitals received bikes to help their staff reach their patients. Staff members often need to cover distances of 25 kilometers and they usually do so on foot. Currently in Mbozi, staff members hire bicycle taxis to take them to some villages. In Isoko, there is no choice but to walk. The newly distributed bikes will be used to facilitate the administration of vaccinations, home-based pregnancy care, and care and counseling for HIV/AIDS patients.