A Low-Cost Ambulance Network to Improve Access to Maternity Services in Dhaka, Bangladesh

In 2008, the Ad-din Hospital recognized that many women in Dhaka were failing to access emergency obstetric care and established a low-cost ambulance service. Using mobile phones and global positioning system (GPS) tracking, Ad-din manages a fleet of 66 ambulances stationed throughout the city. These ambulances serve women requiring transport for emergency obstetric care, as well as for non-emergency services such as transport home after discharge. Transportation to skilled maternity care provides women with the services they need to prevent obstetric fistula, which occurs when a woman is in labor too long or the delivery is obstructed and she has no access to a cesarean delivery