Bicycling magazine’s BikeTown Africa program is in its fifth year, having delivered more than 1 700 bikes to groups fighting HIV/AIDS in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa and Swaziland in its first three years. In 2009 the project delivered another 750 bikes to healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa. Healthcare workers are using these bikes to distribute anti-retroviral drugs and provide home-based care to people infected with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other illnesses. The healthcare workers are also disseminating information about how people can protect themselves from HIV and on the importance of being tested for the virus. Doing this work on foot, workers in remote areas can sometimes see only one or two people in each day, but with bicycles that number could rise to as many as five visits per day.

the PARTNERS

BikeTown Africa, founded by Rodale Inc., publisher of Bicycling magazine, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, is designed to provide bicycles to assist AIDS sufferers in Africa. The Rodale Institute is a non-profit organization whose mission is expressed as “Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People”. The Institute has a longstanding history in Africa.

Bristol-Myers Squibb’s SECURE THE FUTURE Foundation is a $150 million corporate commitment to fighting HIV and AIDS in Africa. SECURE THE FUTURE has established a number of HIV and AIDS treatment programs throughout sub-Saharan Africa, including Botswana, where the HIV rate among citizens is 38%.

Kona Bikes has specially designed, constructed and donated the Kona AfricaBike for BikeTown Africa – bikes that are tailored to best suit local conditions while also requiring a minimum of maintenance. Spare parts and the training of local individuals on the repair and service of the bikes will ensure the bikes are fully utilized.

UTi is a logistics company that provides enhanced warehousing; transportation services that include air, ocean and ground; manufacturing support; freight forwarding; customs brokerage; contract logistics and a host of other services. Their provision of receipt, customs clearance, storage and overland trucking will ensure the BikeTown Africa bicycles get to healthcare workers in even the remotest areas of Africa.

Specialized was founded in 1974 by riders for riders. Headquartered in Morgan Hill, California with global distribution, the company focuses on making everyone’s time on a bike better by delivering functional and technically advanced equipment that provides a performance benefit.