Ford Motor Company SA has donated two modified Ford Rangers to development organisation, World Vision, to make healthcare more accessible in the Eastern Cape.
The vehicles will serve as mobile clinics, providing medicine and health education to people living in remote areas in one of the country's poorest provinces.
The mobile clinics will support two area development programmes in the province, which aim to support child nutrition for approximately 20 000 children and 10 000 adults within its first year.
"The vehicles are equipped with a steel canopy with lockable doors, a 78-litre refrigerator that can be connected to 12V DC/220V power, a presentation projector for a laptop, two mounted speakers, and wireless microphone. A dual battery system will run the extra equipment," explains Alisea Chetty, Ford corporate communications manager.
Chetty says the dual battery system can provide enough power for up to two hours, without the need for the vehicle to run to recharge the batteries.
"There is a desperate need for basic healthcare and education in the Eastern Cape, particularly in the impoverished and remote rural areas," says Paula Barnard, national director of World Vision SA, who believes the vehicles will be invaluable in helping achieve this.
One of the Rangers will be deployed for the Mbashe ADP, based in Idutywa within the Amathole district near East London. The second vehicle will serve the Umzimvubu ADP based in Matatiele, which covers the Alfred Nzo district.
The vehicles will provide essential health services and dispense chronic medication for conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and asthma.
Additionally, the mobile clinics focus on nutrition for children under the age of two, provide vaccinations, administer Vitamin A and deworming supplements, and monitor the children's overall growth and development. In partnership with the Department of Health, community information is tracked to monitor medical and child protection services.
The presentation equipment will be used to support a range of education and awareness campaigns for child healthcare and protection, as well as gender-based violence.
Chetty says in the future: "Ford will also be applying other technologies to take advantage of Ford's telemetry and data-capturing OpenXC capabilities. This will allow for the use of applications and other data collection opportunities that are still in the works."
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