BY GARY GERALD MTOMBENI
THE United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) yesterday donated four fully equipped ambulances to boost government’s disaster preparedness in areas vulnerable to natural disasters.
Speaking at the handover ceremony in Harare yesterday, World Bank country manager Marjorie Mpundu said the ambulances were meant for the rugged terrain.
“As World Bank, our commitment is to invest in people to end poverty and build resilience to shocks and threats. It is our hope that these ambulances will help address the disproportionate impact of disasters and emergencies on vulnerable groups such as women and children and will improve their access to basic health services,” Mpundu said.
A Health and Child Care ministry official Maxwell Hove said: “Let me reassure you that these ambulances will be put to good use ensuring that patients are expeditiously ferried from one health facility to the other in order to obtain the requisite medical attention.”
Manicaland and Masvingo provinces were hard hit by Cyclone Idai in 2019, leaving over 341 people dead while more than 270 000 were displaced. The cyclone also damaged infrastructure such as roads, schools, clinics and homes.
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