Frequently Asked Questions

Subscribers to Maisha are entitled to two medical evacuation flights in case of an emergency. During the year of cover, two ground ambulance transport will also be granted where applicable. Maisha subscribers are also able to contact our 24-hour Control Room for emergency medical advice. Through Maisha, you are directly linked to the service provider, meaning no lag between the request for emergency evacuation and action.

The coverage varies between the different levels of cover:

Maisha Bronze – Kenya (air and ground evacuation)

Maisha Silver – Kenya, Tanzania, and Zanzibar

Maisha Gold – Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi

Maisha Platinum – Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Ethiopia

On special circumstances, we can stretch our wings and can arrange for repatriation of patient throughout the world.

Yes, absolutely.

AMREF Flying Doctors will liaise with hospitals and doctors where necessary to make the medical evacuation as smooth and swift as possible. We can also assist in arranging hospital admission and will take the patient from the airport to the hospital of choice in Nairobi. However, AMREF Flying Doctors does not accept any responsibility for hospital payments or other related medical expenses.

Yes we do, as long as there is space available on the aircraft.

AMREF Flying Doctors knows where most of the airstrips are in the East African region and we will endeavour to collect you from the closest airstrip. If medical ground transport is not available at the location of the patient, we can assist in arranging the same.

AMREF Flying Doctors aircraft and ground ambulances are fitted out with intensive care medical equipment. Highly qualified and experienced medical personnel will accompany each evacuation flight. From the time we collect you to the time you’re admitted to the hospital, you will be in the professional hands of our medical team.

AMREF Flying Doctors will provide its best effort to assist any patient in need. Our medical staff in our 24-hour Emergency Control Center will assess each evacuation request. This assessment may include a conversation with the patient’s treating doctor, an official at the site of the accident, or a next of kin who is with the patient in order to establish the nature and extent of the illness/injury. Any patient with an acute and serious medical condition will be evacuated by Air Ambulance to Nairobi. In cases that are not critical, AMREF Flying Doctors reserves the right to refer patients to a nearby medical facility/doctor where applicable. In cases where the medical condition does not warrant an air evacuation, patients can still be evacuated against payment.

It is our goal to dispatch an Air Ambulance as fast as possible. When we receive a call for assistance, our staff will immediately start to work on the case, providing first aid medical advice or give direction to the closest medical facility where applicable, collect information about the patient’s condition, the location, details of the nearest airstrip and validity of the Maisha cover, etc. In cases of cross-border operations, flight clearances will also be obtained.

While all this is going on, the caller will be kept updated and informed of the aircraft’s arrival time as soon as possible. The actual mobilisation of the aircraft and crew can be as fast as 20 minutes from the time of the call. However, as outlined above, certain logistical and aviation requirements that are necessary to provide a successful evacuation flight can take additional time.