The Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Mamahudu Bawumia, on Wednesday, 24th April 2019 launched the first ever medical drone delivery service in Ghana, and the largest such drone delivery network in the world, at Omenako, near Suhum, in the Eastern Region.
The 'Fly-To-Save-A-Life Project', a collaboration between the Ministry of Health and Zipline Technologies, will provide a rapid response to medical emergencies, especially in hard to reach areas, through the flying of unmanned drones to supply 12 routine and emergency services as well as 148 lifesaving medical products selected by the Ministry of Health.
The Omenako Service Centre, the first of four planned centers, will supply these products to facilities located in the whole of the Eastern Region, and parts of the Volta, Ashanti, Central and Greater Accra Regions. Three other centers are expected to be completed this year to cover most of Ghana.
The service will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each center will be 100% staffed by Ghanaian engineers, health care professionals and logistics personnel, and paid for by the private sector through their corporate social responsibility obligations with no cost to government.
Speaking almost a year to the day since the possibility of setting up a medical drone service in Ghana was broached to him, an elated Vice President Bawumia said the successful launch of the service is yet another example of the triumph of innovation, especially in the use of technology, being championed by the Nana Akufo-Addo government.
Vice President Bawumia was especially delighted that such innovation was being applied to improve access to health care to deprived and hard-to-reach communities, as it forms part of Government's strategy to reduce inequality and hardships by ensuring the inclusion of every Ghanaian irrespective of status in national development.
"One of the biggest pillars of this government has been how to grow this country without leaving anyone behind; inclusiveness. And one of the ways we are working on is how to use technology to advance our development, improve the ways we do things in our offices, and how to improve citizens' access to and delivery of the public services they need no matter where they live in this country.
The Zipline project has already attracted international attention and major players like Pfizer, NOVARTIS, GAVI, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and UPS have already engaged Zipline to deliver medicines and other supplies in Ghana on their behalf using drones.
The launch ceremony was attended by the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II; Minister of Health and MP for Dormaa Central, Hon Kwaku Agyemang-Manu; Keller Rinaudo, CEO of Zipline International; Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director General of the Ghana Health Service; Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, Dr Kwabena Twum-Nuamah; Eastern Region Minister Hon Eric Kwakye Darfuor, and other senior government and health officials.
