In rural Kenya, limited transportation significantly impacts access to healthcare. Recognizing the critical role mobility plays in community healthcare, World Bicycle Relief (WBR) has joined forces with Living Goods and the Busia County Government’s Department of Health and Sanitation to strengthen healthcare services in the region.
This collaboration has led to the recent distribution of 350 Buffalo Bicycles to 324 Community Health Promoters (CHPs) and 26 Community Health Assistants (CHAs) across 19 sub-counties in western Kenya. CHPs provide primary healthcare services directly within their communities through household visits, patient referrals, and delivery of essential preventive services.
CHAs supervise the CHPs and oversee health facilities such as dispensaries and health centers, each managing approximately 10 Community Health Units (CHUs). These bicycles provide both CHPs and CHAs with reliable and efficient transportation, significantly enhancing their ability to deliver timely and essential health services within their communities.
Across western Kenya, community healthcare workers typically support over 100 households within their designated village units. Often traveling an average distance of 4 km on foot while carrying medical supplies, these dedicated workers face physical fatigue and financial burdens—challenges that community participants themselves identify as barriers to delivering effective care.
World Bicycle Relief is partnering with NGOs like Living Goods and local governments as part of a broader initiative to professionalize Community Health Promoters. Although CHPs commonly receive training, digital tools for client data collection, and small salaries, mobility is frequently overlooked as an urgent and essential need. Buffalo Bicycles directly address this gap, significantly reducing travel time and effort, enabling CHPs to provide reliable, timely, and high-quality care even in rugged, rural terrain.
Insights and evidence gathered from this focused pilot initiative with Living Goods will inform future scaling efforts across other counties, ensuring the mobility solutions provided meet community healthcare workers’ needs effectively.
By addressing the often-overlooked mobility challenge, World Bicycle Relief and our partners amplify the impact of existing CHP professionalization efforts and strengthen community health outcomes across western Kenya.
The Buffalo Bicycle, specially designed by World Bicycle Relief, meets the unique demands of rural areas where healthcare workers regularly navigate challenging terrains. Engineered for durability, strength, and reliability, each Buffalo Bicycle features robust frames, puncture-resistant tires, heavy-duty carrier racks for transporting medical supplies, and easily replaceable components making them ideal for demanding daily use.
To sustain long-term impact, World Bicycle Relief implements rigorous mechanic training as part of this program. Within six months of launching this initiative, six additional local mechanics will receive comprehensive training, equipping them with the skills necessary to perform regular bicycle maintenance and repairs. These newly trained mechanics will be directly linked to existing Buffalo Bicycle shops and sales outlets, ensuring continuous access to genuine spare parts at affordable prices. This established ecosystem ensures bicycles remain operational for years, supporting sustained and independent community-led healthcare delivery. Currently, one Buffalo Shop is already operating in Busia County, staffed by six active trained mechanics, and providing convenient access to spare parts and maintenance support.
Malaria remains a severe health threat in Busia County, and CHPs currently handle an impressive 70% of confirmed malaria cases directly at the household level, according to Living Goods. With improved mobility provided by Buffalo Bicycles, these healthcare promoters are now better positioned to quickly deliver malaria test kits, enabling early detection and immediate provision of treatment. They can also manage cases more efficiently, distribute medications rapidly, and swiftly transport patients requiring urgent care. Efficient referrals are critical for severe malaria cases, and bicycles significantly enhance the CHPs’ capacity to promptly connect patients to necessary medical facilities. Insights gathered from this pilot program will directly inform future expansions, ensuring mobility solutions effectively address ongoing community health needs.
This partnership exemplifies World Bicycle Relief’s commitment to putting community needs and the Ministries of Health’s goals and priorities at the center of our work. The healthcare workers identified mobility as one of their greatest challenges; this initiative provides them with the tools they requested to effectively fulfill their roles.
With the introduction of Buffalo Bicycles, community healthcare workers have expressed the ability to enhance patient care by improving response times quickly, especially during emergencies. This initiative is closely aligned with Living Goods’ research agenda, and together, we are systematically measuring the impact bicycles have on overall health outcomes and the effectiveness of CHPs when their transportation challenges are addressed. The evidence gathered will enable WBR, Living Goods, and county government partners to jointly advocate for increased Government of Kenya resource allocation, facilitating broader distribution of bicycles to more Community Health Promoters and Community Health Assistants across the region.
With the introduction of Buffalo Bicycles, community healthcare workers have expressed the ability to:
On a quiet night in March 2025, Phaustine, a dedicated Community Health Promoter from Katotoi Community Unit in Teso North Sub-County, received an urgent knock at his door. At 10 pm, a distressed young couple stood before him. A 22-year-old woman, who had suffered a miscarriage two weeks earlier, was experiencing heavy bleeding and urgently needed medical attention.
Phaustine quickly assessed her condition, provided initial counseling, and immediately issued a referral to Ang’urai Health Centre, the nearest facility equipped for emergencies. Just weeks before, Phaustine had received a Buffalo Bicycle through the partnership between the County Government of Busia, Living Goods, and World Bicycle Relief. With this bicycle, the woman’s husband swiftly transported her to the health facility. She received life-saving care, the bleeding was controlled, and the couple safely returned home by 1 am.
This powerful experience underscored for Phaustine—who serves 114 households—the critical role mobility plays in enabling CHPs to respond quickly to life-threatening situations.
Our partnership with Living Goods highlights the powerful outcomes achieved when local governments, organizations, and community members collaborate to address shared challenges. While our initiative directly responds to community-identified mobility needs, scaling these mobility solutions to healthcare workers requires close collaboration with both county and national governments.
By working alongside governmental partners, NGOs, and other health-focused organizations, we amplify and accelerate the health outcomes delivered by CHPs. These partners provide essential training, digital tools for client data collection, stipends, and a supportive environment, formally recognizing CHPs’ critical role in delivering primary healthcare services within their communities. Together, we emphasize sustainable solutions and strengthen community health systems to create lasting, meaningful change.
At World Bicycle Relief, we deeply believe in the strength and agency of the communities we partner with. By providing tools that communities themselves identify as critical, like Buffalo Bicycles, we support them in driving meaningful, lasting change.
