Uganda, May 6 -- Uganda has only about half of the ambulances it requires, underlining glaring gaps in the country's emergency response system.

According to statistics presented by the Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, on Tuesday, Uganda requires 590 ambulances. Of these, 510 should be Type B emergency ambulances, which are basic life support road ambulances; 54 should be Type C ambulances, meant for specialised advanced life support or ICU services; six specialised air ambulances; and 20 marine ambulances.

"We now have 296 ambulances, of which 285 are Type B and 11 are Type C. This means that five regional referral hospitals do not have Type C ambulances, if I count 16. But if I count 18, it means eight do not have, or seven for ...