Air Ambulance Service Launches,Free Flights for Citizens
Zimbabwe’s government-backed air ambulance service, utilizing Russian helicopters and equipment, has carried out its first patient transport, airlifting an ordinary citizen who suffered cardiac arrest from Chegutu to Harare free of charge.
The 20-minute flight, which had two local doctors on board, transported the patient from Chegutu District Hospital to Sally Mugabe Central Hospital, a journey that would have taken nearly two hours by road given the heavy traffic on the Harare-Bulawayo highway.
The “golden hour” concept, which emphasizes the critical first 60 minutes after a severe injury where immediate medical intervention can significantly improve survival chances, was a key factor in the air ambulance’s rapid response.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government have been working to modernize Zimbabwe’s healthcare sector as part of efforts to transform the country into a prosperous, highly industrialized nation by 2030. In June, the president visited Russia to scout for investors to help establish the air ambulance service.
Russian company HeliDrive Air Ambulances Medical Services answered the call, quickly arriving in Zimbabwe to assist in setting up an efficient air ambulance system staffed by highly skilled medical professionals, pilots, engineers, and dispatchers. The company has already recruited 40 local pilots, 50 doctors, 100 nurses, 100 dispatchers, and 10 engineers.
Air ambulances are designed to provide the same level of medical care available in an intensive care unit, allowing them to transport patients from inadequate facilities to higher levels of care or to take them home when commercial flights are not an option due to their condition.
“Today we received a call for medical operations. So we checked the weather, distance, and we decided to go. By our judgement we could fly, so we flew to Chegutu,” said HeliDrive chief medical pilot Vadim Vagapov. “When we landed there, there were a lot of crowds. The ambulance was already waiting for us there. Then they brought a patient. We just put the patient inside. We started the helicopter and left.”
The only challenge was controlling the large crowd that gathered to witness the historic event, as Vagapov noted, “We had to keep them away for safety.”
This new air ambulance service, which is subsidized by the government, provides free flights for all citizens, according to Vagapov. “A patient can be flown in this helicopter without paying anything. That’s the greatest thing about our company.”
The launch of the air ambulance service comes at a critical time, as Zimbabwe grapples with a rising number of road traffic accidents. Statistics from the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe show that between January and May 2024, there were 21,183 road accidents, resulting in 4,350 injuries and 860 deaths.
“Hospitals and clinics are being built countrywide and now we have helicopters ferrying patients,” said Health and Child Care Minister Dr. Douglas Mombeshora, expressing the government’s enthusiasm for the new initiative.
The air ambulance service is expected to not only save lives in medical emergencies but also boost the country’s tourism sector, providing a crucial safety net for visitors to remote areas like Mana Pools and Victoria Falls.
