By Whitney Akinyi
AMREF Flying Doctors has collaborated with Ecobank Kenya Limited to launch a new medical scheme aimed at providing quick and affordable emergency air and ground evacuation services in East Africa.
The Maisha Membership plan unveiled in a signing ceremony at AMREF Flying Doctors’ hangar in Wilson Airport, Nairobi, seeks to address the challenges faced by individuals in accessing medical evacuation during times of crisis.
“Access to medical emergency evacuations here in Kenya and across Africa remains a big challenge partly due to prohibitive costs, infrastructure challenges, and lack of skilled resources. We are greatly pleased to partner with AMREF Flying Doctors to help our customers and other Kenyans to easily access emergency ground and air evacuation services for proper medical treatment in Nairobi and elsewhere in the region,” said Josephine Anan-Ankomah, Regional Executive Central, Eastern and Southern African (CESA) and the Managing Director of Ecobank Kenya.
Under this innovative scheme, Maisha members will enjoy an array of benefits that eliminate the hassle and cost barriers associated with medical evacuations. The membership entitles individuals to unlimited evacuation flights within a year for medical emergencies, coupled with unlimited ground ambulance transfers within Kenya.
With AMREF Flying Doctors’ 24-hour control center staffed by qualified medical practitioners, members will receive invaluable medical advice throughout the evacuation process.
Dr. Joseph Lelo, the Medical Director of AMREF Flying Doctors, hailed the partnership as a remarkable initiative to alleviate the physical, emotional, and financial strains posed by healthcare emergencies.
“Healthcare emergencies continue to stress families emotionally and financially, especially in our part of the world. Maisha Membership will provide peace of mind that the affected person will have timely and professional medical transport in an emergency. This is a commendable initiative by the bank, and we urge Ecobank’s customers to enroll in our emergency medical evacuation plan, which provides low-cost access to premium emergency transportation services,” Dr. Lelo emphasized.
Remarkably, Maisha’s Membership encompasses a broad scope of coverage. For premium-level members, air medical evacuations are available, along with post-evacuation hospitalization benefits of up to US$200,000 in Nairobi or South Africa, with return flights included.
The partnership further extends its reach to cover Eastern African countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. Families of Maisha members also have the opportunity to benefit from the same coverage, following the outlined tariff structure.
