Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has agreed to engage in a process of enhanced consultation with the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and other stakeholders in the implementation of drones for medical supplies project, a statement signed by the Deputy Minister for Information, Pius Enam Hadzide, has indicated.
According to the statement, the agreement follows a fruitful and productive meeting between representatives of the MoH, GMA, Ghana Health Service (GHS) and Zipline under the chairmanship of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
On Tuesday, the GMA called for the suspension of the Zipline drone project to allow for further consultation after parliament unanimously agreed for the project to commence.
The association said the deal in its current form does not fit into the country’s existing healthcare policy and, thus, government must consult broadly on the drone programme before going ahead to implement it.
“The proposed services to be provided by the drones do not conform to the existing primary healthcare policy in Ghana, where different levels of care have different capacities to perform specific functions,” GMA President, Dr. Frank Ankobea, mentioned in a statement.
The association’s challenges, with regard to the incompatibility of the new service with the country’s healthcare system, appear to be justified by the prevailing circumstances on the ground which include low voluntary blood donation.
Most of the facilities expected to take delivery of essential medicines and blood may not necessarily be equipped or mandated to administer some drugs and transfuse blood.
The GMA observed that while it is not against the use of technology in improving healthcare in the country, it expected that any of such interventions must be aimed at complementing existing efforts and not be treated as the single most important activity to solve the country’s health problems.
There has been a raging controversy over the government’s $12 million agreement with logistics company, Zipline International Incorporated, for the drone delivery of medical supplies to underserved areas.
While the minority in parliament have challenged the agreement, stating among other things, that it is a “rip-off” and a “misplaced priority”, the Ghana Health Service said it must be pushed through taking into consideration the benefits to citizens, mothers especially.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri