The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has commended medical drone delivery service company, Zipline Ghana limited for its industrial revolution in facilitating the immunization of dozens in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipality of the Western North Region and other parts of the country.
According to GHS, the previous challenges of delay in the transport of medications, unavailability of storage systems for vaccines and administrative bottlenecks will no longer pose a banal threat to healthcare delivery in the Municipality, after Zipline’s UAV made delivery of several components of vaccines in record time.
It will be recalled that the Government of Ghana in April 2019 put to neck a Memorandum of understanding with Zipline Ghana Limited for the transportation of medical supplies to communities difficult to reach by road.
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, the Municipal Focal Person for Immunization for the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipal, Clement Baffour, said the involvement of zipline in the supply chain process of the GHS represents a “game-changer” in the health delivery apparatus.
He added that, since the involvement of Zipline the challenges of traveling for vaccines and the delay in vaccine delivery have become a thing of the past.
Mr. Baffour expressed the gratitude of the community and called for more support for the company to help reduce the mortality rate by facilitating the 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, its safe to say 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.
Municipal Director of Health Services for Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipality, Oheneba Oppong-Darko, spoke fondly of how the company has substantially reduced the defaulter rate in the administration of child immunization vaccines in the municipality.
He narrated that before the intervention of Zipline, whenever the quantum of vaccine delivered for service provision got finished there was no backup available and therefore most patients often miss the opportunity to take their vaccines at the required time.
“This is now a thing of the past. A patient 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 has ensured every citizen, irrespective of proximity, has equal access to healthcare delivery in the country.
