The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has commended Zipline Ghana Limited, a medical drone delivery company, for its industrial revolution in facilitating the immunization of dozens in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipal of the Western North Region and other parts of the country.
The GHS said the previous challenges that delayed the transport of medications, unavailability of storage systems for vaccines, and administrative bottlenecks would no longer pose a threat to healthcare delivery in the Municipality after Zipline’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) made delivery of several components of vaccines in record time.
The government of Ghana in April 2019, signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Zipline Ghana Limited for the transportation of medical supplies to hard-to-reach communities due to inaccessible roads.
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The partnership has since expanded the tentacle of the Company to include distribution of Covid-19 samples for testing and child immunization vaccines delivery nationwide.
In an interaction with the media, Mr Clement Baffour, the Municipal Focal Person for Immunization for the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipal, said the involvement of Zipline in the supply chain process of the GHS represented a “game-changer” in the health delivery apparatus.
He added that since the involvement of Zipline, the challenges of delivering vaccines had become a thing of the past.
Mr Baffour expressed the gratitude of the beneficiary communities and called for more support for the company to help reduce the high mortality rate by facilitating emergency delivery of medication to patients.
“I think Zipline has brought a lot of relief to the communities and this directorate in the discharge of its work, for which reason they must be commended for their innovation. Previously, we had to travel to Takoradi to take delivery of vital medications for lack of storage facilities.
“But having witnessed the innovation of Zipline’s drones, it is safe to say that we are out of the woods.
“We will continue to share in the benefit of their work and pray for them to succeed”, Mr Baffour said.
Mr Oheneba Municipal Director of Health Service Opoku-Darko, for Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipal, spoke fondly of how the company had substantially reduced the defaulter rate in the administration of child immunization vaccines in the municipality.
He said that before the intervention of Zipline, whenever the quantum of vaccines delivered for service provision got finished, there was no backup available and, therefore, most patients often missed the opportunity to take their vaccines at the required time.
“This is now a thing of the past. A parent cannot miss this immunization any longer on the basis of non-availability of the vaccines as Zipline is just a call or text away and they deliver just-in-time to make our work much easier”.
He commended government for the partnership with the company, which had ensured every citizen, irrespective of proximity, has equal access to healthcare delivery in the Country.
