Online Reporter
Trust Freddy-Herald Correspondent
THE Government-sponsored Air Ambulance Service has successfully responded to a total of 778 civil emergency cases across the country since its launch in August last year, a recent report shows.
The Air Ambulance has been expanding its reach to new and previously hard-to-access areas, ensuring that no community is left behind.
Hospitals in Musami, Madziva, Makunde, Sadza, West Nicholson, Victoria Falls, Gwanda and Mt Darwin have now benefited from the service, strengthening the country’s emergency response system.
HeliDrive Air Ambulance Services has been praised for offering free life-saving emergency air transfers to critically ill patients across the country.
The service was launched through a partnership with Russia’s HeliDrive Air Medical Services.
The initiative is a critical step in President Mnangagwa’s efforts to modernise Zimbabwe’s healthcare system and improve access to specialised medical care, particularly given the high number of road traffic accidents.
The service has already airlifted numerous patients, including children, and provides intensive care-level treatment, overcoming geographical barriers to reach those in need.
The air ambulance service has primarily responded to maternal cases, road accidents and critical illnesses, swiftly transferring patients from remote areas to major hospitals.
Giving an update in Harare yesterday, Helidrive Zim medical director, Dr Freddy Mhondiwa, said: “Since the launch of the National Air Ambulance Service in August 2024, a total of 778 civil emergency cases have been successfully attended to across the country.
“Between July 14 and August 20, 2025 alone, the service responded to 125 cases, with a balanced gender distribution of 62 males and 63 females. Of these, 66 were adults, while specialised care was extended to 18 paediatric patients, 19 neonates and 22 maternity emergencies, highlighting the service’s critical role in safeguarding vulnerable groups.”
Dr Mhondiwa added that the service has reached most of the country’s remotest areas.
“Importantly, the Air Ambulance has been expanding its reach to new and previously hard-to-access areas, ensuring that no community is left behind. Hospitals in Musami, Madziva, Makunde, Sadza, West Nicholson, Victoria Falls, Gwanda and Mt Darwin have now benefited from the service, strengthening the country’s emergency response system.”
The service is staffed by Russian and Zimbabwean doctors, nurses and emergency responders, offering round-the-clock critical care as part of the Government’s commitment to universal health coverage.
Last year, the country received a fleet of 18 Russian-made Ansat and Mi-17 helicopters in a deal initiated by President Mnangagwa to ensure that patients in the public health system have access to top-class medical care.
The availability of this service has already saved several lives across the country.
The service’s team of dedicated medical professionals has handled everything from knife stab wounds to mid-air births.
According to Dr Mhondiwa, over 70 percent of cases were critical.
The air ambulance service has so far been rolled out in Harare and Bulawayo, and will soon be extended to Victoria Falls.
The team recently performed an extraordinary mid-air delivery, bringing a healthy baby boy into the world from a 13-year-old mother.
The critical airborne birth occurred as the young patient was being airlifted from Maphisa Hospital to the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH), transforming a routine medical transfer into a race against time.
Gweru Provincial Hospital also recently carried out its first inter-hospital air transfer, which saw one of Zimbabwe’s air ambulances land at the hospital.
A seven-month-old baby boy was on board the flight and was being managed by child specialist paediatricians at Mpilo hospital before being transferred to Gweru.
Since its inception, this has been the routine: whether it’s an artisanal miner injured in an accident, a patient suffering from malaria, or a woman in labour requiring emergency care in a remote village, they are being saved, with people in rural areas now able to be airlifted promptly to central hospitals.
