Mozambique: Tuk tuk ambulances

In northern Mozambique there are not many ambulances. Even women who are heavily pregnant usually have to travel to hospital on foot, which can be fatal for mother and child. SolidarMed has therefore launched a tuk ambulance system, which rapidly transports pregnant women to hospital and reinforces community structures.

Key project facts

Aim of the project

To provide free and fast transport to health facilities for pregnant women.
Target groups

Pregnant women in the Chiúre District in northern Mozambique
Milestones

Establishment of social enterprise Oka Ventures in 2018 following successful pilot phase. Implementation of the project by Oka Ventures – guided and financed by SolidarMed.
Methods

Renting and maintaining tuk tuks, training drivers, advertising the service to local people

Key project facts

Mozambique

Ambulance taxis

In the Chiúre District, SolidarMed has introduced a self-financing emergency transport system. Via the social enterprise Oka Ventures, SolidarMed rents tuk tuks – known as Oka taxis – to local drivers. Most of the time, drivers use their vehicles as normal taxis to transport passengers or goods. If needed, however, they have to drive pregnant women from the villages to the nearest hospital or health centre free of charge. This saves women the arduous journey on foot and allows them to give birth safely in a healthcare facility. This tried and tested model makes it possible to offer free emergency transport while allowing drivers to earn their own income.

Outside of the emergency ambulance journeys, drivers are self-employed and transport goods and passengers.

This baby arrived safely thanks to the Oka taxi. In the night of 20 March 2022, the mother had strong contractions and was driven to the health centre in an Oka taxi.

A single cushioned couch allows pregnant women to be transported.

An Oka taxi driving through Chiúre in the Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique.

Drivers take pregnant women to hospital four times a month on average. The rest of the time, the drivers earn a decent income from taxi journeys. Meanwhile, the enterprise Oka Ventures maintains the tuk tuks and trains drivers in managing their income and safe driving. Demand for the ambulance service is growing as community members and particularly pregnant women become aware of it.