Insurance Council of Zimbabwe, (which is an association of all short-term insurance and reinsurance companies operating in Zimbabwe), is concerned with the loss of lives of Road Traffic Accident victims due to lack of timeous evacuation from the scene of the accident and taken to a medical institution for emergency treatment. In order to augment emergency response systems offered by the Government of Zimbabwe, ICZ will, during the Independence and Easter Holidays, deploy standby ambulances along the major highways of our country to provide post-crash emergency medical attention and evacuation to the nearest medical institution for treatment.
This initiative is a partial fulfilment of Pillar 5 of the United Nations Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety which deals with Post Crash Response. In the long term, this project should lead to the availability of emergency response services on all roads in Zimbabwe. The initial roll out will begin with deploying ambulance services on the major highways. The standby ambulances will be stationed in or close to areas that have been known to be accident prone.
ICZ identified the zones in consultations with Zimbabwe Republic Police, the Civil Protection Unit and Axstarz. The aim is to have the standby ambulances and medical personnel being the first to respond and attend to victims in the event of an accident and if overwhelmed, they have the means to call for support from an existing network of other ambulances which form part of this arrangement.
The intention is to ensure appropriate medical help to accident victims before the lapse of the first hour of the accident, commonly referred to as the Golden Hour. Below is the list of areas where the ambulances will be stationed:
| ROAD NAME | POSSIBLE STANDBY POINTS | DISTANCE FROM NEAREST TOWN | NEAREST HOSPITAL | AVAILABLE SERVICE PROVIDERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4 Highway (Harare – Beitbridge) | Mwenezi | 183 km (BEITBRIDGE) | MWENEZI HOSPITAL | MARS |
| A2 Highway (Harare – Nyamapanda) | Rukanda | 137 km (HARARE) | ALL SOULS MISSION HOSPITAL | Cimas Rescue Emergency Service |
| A5 Highway (Harare – Bulawayo) | Shangani | 62 km (GWERU) | GWERU PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL | EMRAS |
| A1 Highway (Harare – Chirundu) | Lions Den | 138 km (HARARE) | CHINHOYI HOSPITAL | ACE |
| A8 Highway (Victoria Falls Highway) | Lupane | 175km (BULAWAYO) | TSHOLOTSHO DISTRICT HOSPITAL | Netstar |
| A6 Highway (Bulawayo – Beitbridge) | Makado | 226 km (BULAWAYO) | GWANDA PROVINCIAL HOSPTIAL | EMRAS |
| A9 Highway (Mutare – Masvingo) | Nyanyadzi | 103 km (MUTARE) | BIRCHENOUGH BRIDGE HOSPITAL | St John’s Ambulances |
To ensure an effective and efficient delivery of the required medical service, communication and coordination of the operation will be done through a command centre that would be manned by Axstraz.
ICZ has further engaged the Ministry of Health and Child Care to ensure that government medical institutions along the highway are advised of this arrangement as well as capacited to enhance the care of the RTA victims in the event of the accident.
As we go into the holiday period, ICZ is appealing to all motorists to ensure that their vehicles are roadworthy and compliant with all statutory rules and regulations. We have a special message of appeal to public service vehicle operators:
Please ensure that you have valid public passenger insurance.
This will go a long way in assisting accident victims pay for medical attention in the case of having sustained injuries and in the very unfortunate circumstances where lives are lost, burial expenses will be paid through insurance.
ICZ is therefore appealing to the nation’s law enforcement agents to ensure maximum compliance. It should be noted that compensation cannot be made if there is no insurance. We therefore encourage operators to abide by the law. We appeal to the media to assist us spread this important message on the immense benefits of being compliant.
We are all aware of the effects of the road accidents that result in economic and social challenges and in many instances the unfortunate loss of lives.
Through an effective and long term sustainable emergency response system, ICZ’s aim is to save as many lives as possible and lessen the extent of medical complications as a result of injuries not attended to on time.
The Insurance Council of Zimbabwe wishes the nation a happy and safe holiday.
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