Reliable Emergency Access to Community Health
Partnering with communities to build adaptable emergency response
systems that expand access to basic care.
What is R.E.A.C.H ?
REACH is a low-cost, easily maintainable, all-terrain stretcher, and the community-run response system built around it, in Langa, Cape Town. Co-designed by students at MassArt and MIT D-Lab with local partners, it helps residents reach an ambulance or clinic before a condition becomes life-threatening
Launched in Langa, June 2025
The first field-tested stretcher, manufactured by G&M Technologies.
Built to be repaired locally
Made from locally sourced materials and bicycle parts, so it can be fixed with tools and skills already in the community.
More than a
device
A zone-based dispatch system lets residents call for help via WhatsApp from community access points, with community health workers responding.
“Most of the patients are staying alone in their shacks. They don’t have the money to Uber, and they are very sick. This [REACH] will help a lot.”
Portia Nontembiso Makwetu,
Langa Community Health Worker