Development Ratings

Results measurement is broken down into four categories: vehicle ratios (costing, breakdowns, distance covered, etc.); health workers’ statistics (number of visits carried out, people seen, etc., plus how the work is affecting their own lives); health community impact (reported cases of disease, morbidity and mortality); and qualitative measures of relationships with the people and organisations that measure the impact statistics. The first two measures are directly under Riders’ control, but the third is not, which is why the fourth measure is included, as a way of determining if the health impact statistics are potentially distorted in some way. With several organisations involved, a combined approach is used to apportioning contribution to health changes.

In 2005, an independent consultancy found that Riders-supported health workers were able to cover four times the area and reach four times the number of people they reached before. Over 260% more cases of diarrhoea were diagnosed and treated and 55% more cases of malaria. Diarrhoea causes 4% of all deaths (WHO). In the Gambia, a child immunisation rate of 62% before Riders involvement has increased to 73%. The WHO estimates that about 10% of infants die each year through not being immunised. This approximates to nearly half a million babies across the target countries. In the Gambia (pop: 1.6m), this increased immunisation rate could prevent an additional 700+ infants a year from dying. In the model programme in Zimbabwe (pop: 13m), there was a 20% reduction in malaria-related deaths over the three year trial period. In countries described as having intense transmission, malaria causes an average 1.3% loss in annual economic growth, increases poverty and causes impaired learning and disability. A 20% reduction, therefore, could have a ¼% effect on economic growth, a sorely needed contribution in Zimbabwe. Riders has documented reductions in maternal childbirth deaths and fatal diarrhoeal diseases, and improvements in infant mortality rates. The charity’s maintenance of over 1,200 motorcycles has allowed health workers to reach approximately 10.6 million people. This results in a total cost per estimated beneficiary of just 23p.