DHAKA: When Faysal Islam lost a loved one in a road accident in 2016 due to a lack of ambulance support, he launched the Safewheel project with two friends to provide low-cost medical services to remote rural areas of Bangladesh .
On Wednesday, the 24-year-old was named Commonwealth Young Man of the Year 2021 – in addition to winning the regional award for Asia and a $ 7,000 prize money – for his “innovative approach to community assistance. ”
“One of our co-founders’ brothers died in 2016 due to an unavailable ambulance. This event inspired me to do something to provide people with medical care, ”Islam, co-founder and chief business development officer of Safewheel, told Arab News on Saturday.
The campaign, which uses a three-wheeled ambulance to deliver on-call healthcare, was designed as a “social enterprise” and was launched in 2019 by Islam and its university friends Rafiq Islam , 26, and Anas Makki, 25.
However, a delay caused by the pandemic of coronavirus meant all three could formally launch the project just last month.
“We have been working on this project for the last three years. The pilot program was launched in the Nogaon area in 2019, and was a great success. We served over 1,000 towns with 10 vehicles, ”he said.
Islam called its “dream” to expand ambulance services to “every city in the country.”
“We plan to introduce a trained paramedic in every ambulance to accompany the patients to the hospital,” said Islam, who lives in Dhaka.
Safewheel currently provides services to nearly 100 cities in the Feni region, 156 km from Dhaka, using a single ambulance.
The beautiful Feni district covers 564 cities, with a total population of nearly 1.5 million, according to government data.
Most residents depend on farming for their livelihood, with a large number employed in the Middle East as migrant workers. Limited financial resources and even scarce medical services.
Islam said the Safewheel operations were launched in Feni because of its geographical advantage – the area is spread between Dhaka and the commercial city of Chottogram, and has a strong communications network.
“People from Feni can call the local Safewheel office to use the ambulance service. It is not a free service because we wanted to make it a sustainable model, ”said Islam.
He said some NGOs in African countries had set up a similar program, “but they failed in the long run due to limited funding. ”
“We did not want to rely on any donations,” Islam said.
However, residents are not complaining. The cost of the ambulance to cover 25 km is around $ 7, three times less than a traditional ambulance.
In the last three weeks, dozens have used Safewheel ambulance services, with many saying “they may not have been able to get any medical care or without it. ”
“My husband works as a day worker, and we don’t have savings to spend on medical care. I used the ambulance service at the birth of my second son, ”Taslima Begum, a housewife and Feni resident, told Arab News.
Morshed Alam, a 36-year-old transport worker, said the ambulance was more suited to the narrow streets of the villages.
“My father had a heart attack last month, and I called the ambulance service immediately. The road to my home town was very narrow, and it is impossible for a regular ambulance to go up to my doorstep. If it wasn’t for the Safewheel, I don’t know what would have happened to my father, ”he said.
Next month, Safewheel plans to add three more vehicles to its fleet and expand coverage to 500 towns in the area.
“Right now, the focus is on investing to help us grow and expand our service areas. We expect some money from Australia soon. On March 8, we signed an MoU with the Swiss Ambassador in Dhaka for a ‘matching fund’ for our social enterprise, “Islam said.
Public health experts have welcomed the campaign, describing it as a “huge relief” in times of health crisis.
“The emergency transport of patients to hospital is a major concern for millions of people. In this case, this group came up with a low cost solution that attracted the attention of local people, ”said Dr. ASM Amanullah from the University of Dhaka to Arab News.
As Bangladesh is a developing country with few resources, authorities cannot “extend support to rural people to meet their health requirements,” he said.
“I think the government, local and international organizations and other civil society organizations should come forward to help them expand the school district across Bangladesh,” Amanullah said.
Each year, the Commonwealth Youth Awards recognize young people from Commonwealth countries who have a significant role to play in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals through projects that change the lives of people in their communities.