Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE is on course to become the first African country to have a public air rescue service covering the entire country, following the establishment of Helidrive National Air Rescue Service, which was officially launched in August last year.
Helidrive National Air Rescue Service was established through a partnership between the Russian Republic and the Republic of Zimbabwe, where President Vladimir Putin and President Mnangagwa saw it fit to develop a robust air evacuation system, considering the challenges the country faced in air rescue transportation services.
Speaking in an interview at the Ministry of Health and Child Care stand at the recently concluded 65th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, one of the doctors, Dr Rudo Gumbo, said the company was created to address some of the medical transportation challenges the country faced. It began operations in Harare in July 2024, while the second base in Bulawayo became operational in December of the same year.
Since July 2024, the company has evacuated 450 patients, 150 of whom were neonates (less than 28 days old). Sixty of the evacuated patients were from the Matabeleland region, said Dr Gumbo. Helidrive National Air Rescue Service falls under the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
derick.khumalo