Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The proposed date for the commencement of the delivery of emergency drugs and blood services to deprived communities using drones has been extended to next year.
According to Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia, who announced this new timeline, the programme which is aimed at enhancing the country’s emergency response will take off in 2019 instead of September 2018.
“By early 2019, we will be joining Rwanda in using drones to deliver critical medical products. Blood products, medical cargo, emergency vaccines, life-saving and other essential medicines on demand to every part of the country regardless of the terrain or road infrastructure,” he mentioned.
Dr Bawumia revealed this at a forum organised by the Africa Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) and stated that government will use technology to make lives better for Ghanaians.
The vice president made a similar promise a few months ago at the Annual Health Summit, following which the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to that effect.
Although Dr Bawumia did not give details about the arrangement, he emphasized that the government is keen on introducing technological innovations to boost the country’s healthcare delivery system.
Ghana will join Rwanda and the few African countries working with US-based automated logistics firm- Zipline International Inc- to deliver blood and vaccines by drone on demand to patients, including women in labour, in rural communities when implementation of the proposed programme takes off.
The programme is reported to have saved thousands of women from death as a result of bleeding during childbirth; a result Ghana hopes to achieve after a successful commencement.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri