Pilot Project in Rural Cambodia 

Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development seeks to fund groundbreaking ideas that can leapfrog existing technologies and approaches to combating issues relating to maternal health care in the developing world.  Saving Lives at Birth’s 19 nominees offer innovative approaches to prevention and treatment, finding new solutions to seemingly impassable development barriers.  With funding from USAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Grand Challenges Canada and the World Bank, grantees will pilot programs throughout Africa and Southern Asia aiming to improve technologies, service delivery and demand in regards to maternal health care in developing countries. 

Partners for Development was selected to receive funding for its innovative market approach to creating sustainable access to maternal and newborn services in rural communities in Cambodia. The Providing Rural Communities Equal Care Through Transport (PROTECT) project will develop an affordable transportation system which links the 25 villages in Kratie Province Cambodia to markets, schools, health facilities and other socially/economically desirable locations. In addition, after hours emergency travel to health facilities will be guaranteed through fair price contracts with transport providers and revolving loan funds at village level. Commune Councils will develop the capacity to award and manage private sector contracts for transportation and will provide subsidies where necessary to ensure universal access.  

Rationale  

In Cambodia, women living in remote rural areas face significant barriers to accessing quality maternal health care.  As transportation to distant health facilities is expensive and largely unavailable, women are often forced to give birth in their homes, having received minimal, if any, ante-natal care during their pregnancy.  With funding from Saving Lives at Birth, PFD will implement an innovative transportation system, providing pregnant and postpartum mothers with transportation that is both affordable and readily available. 

How It Works

PFD’s system will work much like a public bus system.  Families will pay a low fixed monthly rate in exchange for regular transportation to schools, markets, health facilities and other popular destinations.  Managed by the community, PFD’s system will leverage the high demand for inexpensive transport to create a strong incentive among community members to keep the system running.  With the promise of regular customers, drivers can lower their traditionally high costs, making it easier for mothers to justify travel to neighboring clinics for both routine and emergency care. 

Although emergency travel costs will remain unavoidably higher than scheduled mass transport, with pre-negotiated rates and standing contracts mothers can access emergency transport at a fair market rate when needed.  Revolving loan funds at the village level will also be available for families that need immediate access to the cash for such unplanned expenses.

 To learn more about Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development and the other 18 nominees visit http://savinglivesatbirth.net/