Saturday, June 27, 2009

Health care via text messaging

A recent Guardian article on FrontlineSMS described a new effort to improve health care in low-resource, remote communities by using a basic function of the ubiquitous mobile phone: Short message service (SMS) or text messaging.

According to the World Health Organization, Africa accounts 24% for the global burden of disease but has only 3% of the health care workforce. The shortage has important ramifications for such domains as maternal health, tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV.

FrontlineSMS, seeks to address these shortages by offering an open-source software program that permits two-way text messaging and requires only a computer, modem, cell phones. According to Springwise,

Working with donations collected through Hope Phones, the initiative places a laptop running FrontlineSMS in a central clinic and then distributes cell phones to community health workers. Workers are trained in sending text messages to hospital staff to request drug dosing information or treatment instruction, for example, or provide status updates on a particular patient.

Clearly, this will not solve the critical shortage of skilled health-care workers in the region, but it makes clever use of existing technology to help provide access to medical care, even for those living in remote villages.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Enduro Africa 2008 on UK television

In this month's Enduro Africa Newsletter comes word that a film of the 2008 ride was made into a 5-part series on the UK program Men and Motors and will be aired at the following times:

ENDURO AFRICA 2008

Thursday 2nd July until Thursday 30th July @ 19.30
Friday 3rd July until Friday 31st July @ 11.30, 13.30, 17.30
Saturday 4th July until Sat 1st August @ 18.30

Those of us in other countries may need to rely on clips available online, such as the 9-minute clip that appears below and which is best experienced with the volume turned OFF. The first half has a terrible choice for soundtrack, IMHO.


Saturday, June 20, 2009

2009 Enduro Africa Itinerary

Here's the official Enduro Africa itinerary for this year's ride:
Day 1
Depart from Heathrow for Johannesburg, South Africa.

Day 2
Arrive in Johannesburg and catch a connecting flight onto the 1820 settler’s city of Port Elizabeth. This is where the fun begins! After the introduction to your team, a quick warm up on your trusty
Honda CRF 230 will ensure that you are well prepared for the adventure that lies ahead.

Day 3
With sirens howling and lights flashing we receive a very special send off as we head up to Addo and onto the beautiful
Zuurberg Pass. This is a long first day that is designed to be equally challenging and enjoyable. We travel through an area full of history with remnants of the Anglo Boer war and Xhosa wars scattered en route. The Katberg Hotel is our overnight stop.

Day 4
Today is a very African and remote day with beautiful forest footpaths, dams and rocky passes. We head back to the coast to Morgan’s Bay Hotel, some 50km north of the shipping port of East London. Morgan’s Bay is a remote holiday resort and is dominated by the Hotel.

Day 5
This is where the Wild Coast and true off-road adventure begins! We cross the mighty Kei River by motorised Ferry and embark on an epic 70km journey which takes about 8 hours. We are in the heart of
Rural Transkei populated by the very friendly Xhosa people. Our stop tonight is Mazeppa Bay Hotel, a beautiful family hotel situated on the rocky shores of the warm Indian Ocean.

Day 6
A well deserved rest day at Mazeppa Bay. This is where we service the bikes and get involved in a Touch Africa community based project where you are invited to get your hands dirty and “make a difference”. The rest of the day is spent at leisure on the beach, in the bar. It’s your day so enjoy.

Day 7
Our first challenge for the day is the mighty Qora Gorge, a steep 1000ft drop to cross the Qora River after which we traverse North up to
Hole in the Wall. The low road vs. the high road is your decision – with up to 10 hours in the saddle, today will challenge your riding ability so dig deep!

Day 8
Still heading north we follow the coast passing the
Hluleka Nature Reserve and arrive in Port St Johns, a small Hippie type town on the banks of the Umzimvubu River. Our overnight stop is Cremorne.

Day 9
Today is a first for
Enduro Africa. The distance is less than 50km but it will be one of the toughest with the teams having to build bridges, float bikes across rivers and most definitely work together. Planning and strategy is important as each obstacle is a race against time. Our overnight stop is the wonderful Mbotyi River Lodge.

Day 10
Our last day and the mighty Mtsikaba gorge awaits us. 2008 was the first time motorcyclists had crossed this river and for 2009 we have found a brand new crossing that is sure to challenge you. Our final destination is TO Strand at Port Edward. Tonight we celebrate our achievement and party hard!

Day 11
Breakfast, fond farewells and a transfer to Durban Airport for flights back to the UK and other destinations.