Air ambulance to bridge healthcare gap in remote areas

Namibia’s first State-owned air ambulance service is expected to improve access to specialised medical care for patients in remote areas, where long distances to referral hospitals have often delayed emergency treatment.

Vice President Lucia Witbooi said the service would help connect vulnerable patients with advanced medical care, reducing the time spent travelling by road when urgent treatment is needed.

Speaking at the official launch in Windhoek on Wednesday, Witbooi said the country’s vast geographical size had long presented a challenge to emergency medical services. “For a long time, our vast geography and the great distances between our remote communities and referral hospitals have posed a significant challenge,” she said.

The new service is expected to provide an alternative for patients whose medical conditions require urgent transfer to intermediate or national referral hospitals.

Witbooi said the service was intended to ensure that a patient’s chances of survival were not determined by where they lived.

“No Namibian should lose their life simply because they live far from a hospital,” she said. The air ambulance service will consist of a Learjet equipped with advanced medical equipment to provide critical care during flights. The government will also use helicopter evacuation services in collaboration with the Namibian Police Force and the Namibian Defence Force to respond to emergencies in areas where helicopters are required.

Government Air Transport Services will provide aircraft and pilots in cooperation with the ministries of health as well as works and transport.

Specialised medical personnel will accompany patients requiring critical care, while emergency service centres at national referral hospitals will support the transfer of patients from aircraft to hospital facilities.

Witbooi said the service would strengthen the existing ground ambulance fleet and improve referral pathways between district, intermediate and national referral hospitals.

Health minister Esperance Luvindao said the air ambulance was developed to address immediate healthcare needs while the government continues with plans to build more hospitals.

She said the ministry had recognised that the construction of referral hospitals requires substantial financial resources and time. “While we build those hospitals, Namibians want service,” Luvindao said.

The minister said the government had to find ways of responding to emergencies in the meantime, particularly for patients who require urgent specialist treatment.

The ministry has activated an emergency call centre to coordinate requests for air evacuation, verify referrals and dispatch the service.

Luvindao said the centre would ensure that patients with justified medical needs are transferred promptly.

The service will prioritise patients who require urgent specialist intervention, including those with serious trauma, neurological, cardiac and obstetric emergencies. Patients whose conditions make road transport unsafe or likely to cause dangerous delays may also qualify for air evacuation. Witbooi said the service would require cooperation between healthcare professionals, aviation authorities, emergency responders and security institutions.

She cautioned that the launch was only the beginning, saying the government must ensure the service operates safely and sustainably. The service will require regular aircraft maintenance, specialised training, medical equipment and adequate financial resources. Witbooi said its success would ultimately depend on the lives saved and the tragedies prevented.

The government has not provided figures on how many patients are expected to be evacuated annually or the operational budget of the service.

The launch marks a new approach to emergency medical transport in Namibia, particularly for communities that face long journeys to reach specialised healthcare.

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