The Zambezi Health Directorate has received four ambulances, a critical upgrade to emergency services where communities have long struggled with limited medical transport options.

For over a decade, the hospital relied on a single ageing ambulance to serve a region with widespread medical needs.

The delivery marks a milestone in the government's efforts to improve health infrastructure in underserved areas and is expected to enhance emergency response capacity significantly, especially in rural and flood-prone communities.

In many cases, the hospital was forced to depend on costly private ambulances to transfer critically ill patients to Windhoek, Rundu, Ongwediva, and Oshakati. 

The long road trips, which can take 12 to 15 hours even in ideal conditions, have often meant dangerous delays in care for patients in need of urgent, specialised treatment.

Zambezi Health Director Woita Kapumburu said that the emergency vehicles will help address major concerns.

"Our reliance on private ambulance usage is something that is known to all of us, but we feel that these two, or the two that we received and the other two that are to come, even though they might not solve all our problems, we see it as a hope that will take us forward."

Governor Alufea Sampofu shares the same sentiment.

"We are happy that this will really work for our patients who are being referred to other regions, so it's good also that we should have these facilities. I can see that our ambulances only used to take one patient; these ones can take two, so that is another development for referrals of our patients to other regions."

He warned drivers to take good care of the ambulances and be on time whenever and wherever emergency services are required.  

With the addition of new ambulances, officials said that emergency operations will see immediate improvements with regard to fast response, low costs, improved preparedness and enhanced access.