By Joyce Kantam Kolamon
The Zipline Center at Walewale in the NorthEast region has distributed more than 60,000 doses of Covid 19 vaccines as part of its contribution towards the attainment of herd immunity in its four operational regions since the vaccination began. The Center has also delivered more than 44,000 medical products, 600 blood products and 61,000 doses of essential vaccines to 374 health facilities since its operation in 2019. The Zipline intervention has offered tremendous support to health directorates and of particular mention for commendation is the support it gave at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was disclosed by the Community Lead in charge of Operations at the Centre, Dr. Simon Batamya Aseno, when GBC News visited the Centre to get information on its contribution towards health delivery.
Zipline Ghana officially commissioned the Vobsi Centre which is located at Kukua near Walewale in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region in 2019. It is the third and largest distribution centre. The centre supplies medical packages to health facilities in four regions in the Northern sector namely Northern, North East, savannah and Upper East. It reaches out to about 374 health facilities of which 95 % are in the rural and hard-to-reach areas. The Vobsi distribution centre has the capacity to make up to 500 flights a day. The ‘Fly-To-Save-A-Life Project’, a collaboration between the Ministry of Health and Zipline Technologies, is expected to provide a rapid response to medical emergencies, especially in hard to reach areas, through the flying of unmanned drones to such facilities. The revolutionary new service uses drones to make on-demand, emergency deliveries of 148 different vaccines, blood products, and life-saving medications selected by the Ministry of Health. This drone delivery service operates 24/7.
Some of the treatments that Zipline provides to Ghanaians in remote areas are vaccines for polio, tetanus and diphtheria, Anti snake serum injection, Anti rabies injection and the World Health Organization’s Expanded Project on Immunization. It also stocks and delivers essential medical supplies such as Antimalarial drugs, Anti-retroviral drugs, Antibiotics among others. According to the Community Lead in charge of Operations at the centre, Dr. Simon Batamya Aseno, the zipline services had become much more critical as it helped in reducing the human movement in transporting medical commodities to health facilities. This, he stressed, forms part of its corporate social responsibility as it is the primary mandate to which the centre remains highly committed.
The news team was taken round the facility particularly, medical stores where all kinds of medical supplies are stocked for safe delivery.
There is no doubt the drone network will integrate into Ghana’s national health care supply chain. The intervention has brought relief to many health facilities across the country. Zipline’s drone delivery service in Ghana is another innovative step to provide every human with instant access to vital medical supplies in countries with citizens who struggle to access the medical supplies they need.