In Zambia, about 15 percent of adults ages 15 to 49 are infected
with HIV in this southern African nation; last year AIDS led to
56,000 deaths. Almost nobody owns a car in Zambia, and many of
the sick live more than an hour’s walk from the nearest health
care facility, hampering both routine and emergency care. The
miracle solution to this horrible health crisis? A bike. That’s
why World Bicycle Relief came to Boston University—to help
research and quantify the impact of bikes in this poor area of
Africa. A bicycle can be a lifesaver, bringing health care
workers to their patients, serving as an ambulance, and helping
families that have lost a breadwinner to AIDS survive
economically by allowing them to ferry farm goods to market or
start a bicycle taxi service.