The Ministry of Health spokesperson, Tony Goodman, has launched a scathing attack on Zipline, accusing it of failing to fulfil its core mandate.
According to Tony Goodman, Zipline diverted from its intended purpose, and its drones were being used to deliver condoms and even exam papers.
It will be recalled, the former Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on Wednesday, April 24, 2019, launched the drones-for-medical-supplies initiative at Zipline’s first distribution centre at Omenako in the Eastern Region.
The $12.5 million contract was to enable the Ghana Health Service to fly blood and other essential medical supplies to deprived and hard-to-reach areas.
Speaking on Kessben FM, Tony Goodman alleged, “Zipline was supposed to be transporting essential medical items like drugs and vaccines to health facilities. But what did they end up doing? They were rather delivering condoms and even exam papers”.
He added, “They didn’t have the full logistics to function as expected, so they found other things to do. That’s why we’re saying the project did not deliver on its mandate”.
He further highlighted that the Health Minister is determined to fix challenges facing health trainees.
“There are young people who complete their attachments and then sit at home without jobs.
“Some were not even placed on allowances or being fully employed. These are the issues the Minister wants to address,” he emphasised.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, last year 2024, shared the reasons why he initiated the establishment of ZIPLINE Drone operations in Ghana.
Speaking at a Youth Connect event as part of his campaign leading to the 2024 elections, Dr Bawumia explained, “Today, we have brought drones into Ghana to deliver medicines, vaccines, and blood. Many people were dying needlessly because they could not get medicine on time. A snake can bite you on the farm, and you need medicine—anti-ssnake serum immediately. A mother can be giving birth in a village and needs blood immediately. In 2002, my father had an operation in Tamale and he was losing blood. We were looking for blood; the blood bank was locked. We tried to find the operator, but we couldn’t find him. By the morning, my father had passed away,” Bawumia narrated.
He added, “So when I heard about drones and ZIPLINE and what they could do in delivering blood, I took my team and went to San Francisco. We met the ZIPLINE company, and we convinced them to come to Ghana and set up six drone centres in Ghana. We have six drone centres which are delivering medicines, blood, and vaccines to 2700 hospitals and health centres in Ghana.
Every day, we are saving lives. So far, the drones have flown 540,000 flights, and what is interesting is that all six drone centres are managed by Ghanaians; no foreigners are managing the drone centres. Hundred per cent being manned by Ghanaians”.
“It is very important that recently the US Vice President, Kamala Harris, made a statement congratulating Ghana for taking the lead and the leadership role in medical drone delivery. Why did she say so? Because your own Ghana, our own Ghana, is the whole world’s largest medical drone delivery service, the whole world.
We are leading the whole world. A few months ago, ZIPLINE came and took somebody from Ghana to go and train drone flying operators in San Francisco. And so we are taking the lead,” Bawumia added.