Basic Services
Transaid develops appropriate Transport Management Systems for organisations providing basic services, like healthcare and education.
Transport can represent a significant amount of the budget of a public sector organisation. This is particularly true in developing countries with large rural populations, who have little or no access to public or private transport, because the service must go to the people.
Large amounts of capital are spent, by governments and international donors, on vehicles. But, contrary to expectations, more vehicles do not automatically provide better services.
By focusing on transport management we can dramatically increase the efficiency of our partners’ transport operations, and have a much greater long-term impact on their operations than by simply spending more money on vehicles.
For the people our partners serve, this signficantly increases the availability of services, and their chances of benefiting from them.
How we work
Transaid's Transport Management System is our main tool. It has five key components: human resource, policy, fleet management, management information and operational management. The System has been adapted for organisations running from 18 to 15,000 vehicles and succeeds because it empowers everyone who has a responsibility for transport, from transport managers to health workers.
In Ghana, the system enabled health service workers to cover 70% more kilometres, using 13% less vehicles, at less cost. It has been estimated that 90,000 extra children a year can receive vaccinations as a result.
We also develop appropriate, local, low cost transport solutions for use in remote, rural areas, where emergency transport is a particular problem. We work with local people to develop appropriate vehicles, like the bicycle ambulance or motorcycle ambulance, and the systems that enable the community to manage them.
Our partners
Our partners include Ministries of Health and Education, other NGO's and local community groups.
*Mary Kambewa, Community health nurse, Malawi
