Amref Health Africa has donated 50 bicycles to disease control and surveillance assistants in Machinga to enhance delivery of vaccines and other essential health services in hard-to-reach areas. Speaking on Saturday during the handover at Machinga District Hospital, Amref Health Africa programme manager Yung Samanyika said the organisation was committed to supporting efforts aimed at eliminating vaccine-preventable diseases in the district. Healthcare workers pose with their bicycles. | Leonard Masauli “This donation is part of a CF Foundation-funded project under which 100 bicycles, valued at about $20 000, have been procured for Machinga and Salima, with each district receiving 50 bicycles,” he said.

Samanyika said the bicycles are expected to promote and accelerate the delivery of vaccination services, particularly in ongoing efforts to combat diseases such as polio. He urged beneficiaries to use the bicycles responsibly, emphasising that proper care and maintenance will contribute to improved health service delivery and sustain life-saving immunisation outreach in communities. Machinga District Hospital spokesperson Wongani Nyirenda said the bicycles will strengthen outreach vaccination services by enabling health surveillance assistants to reach distant communities more efficiently.

One of the beneficiaries, Catherine Mwanachawa, thanked Amref for the support, noting that the bicycles will bring the much-needed relief to frontline health workers. “My catchment area is about five kilometres from the health facility. This bicycle will greatly improve my efficiency and ability to reach more people in time,” she said.