Zimbabwean national air ambulance service to open new base
Zimbabwe’s Helidrive National Air Rescue Service has announced plans to open a new base at Victoria Falls next month
The announcement was made by Dr Rudo Gumbo, a spokesperson for Helidrive, at this year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo last week.
Dr Gumbo also confirmed that plans for further bases were already underway, with the aim of ultimately making Helidrive a nationwide service. Sites of future bases include Masvingo, Mutare, Kariba, and Buffalo Range.
The service is also currently working to establish a national call center to facilitate access to the service.
The service, which was established by the Zimbabwean government with the aim of addressing the country’s medical evacuation challenges, previously opened its first base in Harare in July 2024, and its second in Bulawayo in December of that year.
Since the launch of operations, Helidrive has now served over 450 patients, including 150 neonatal patients aged under 28 days.
The establishment of the service was facilitated by a delivery of 18 Rostec helicopters in 2023.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.