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Bawumia Urges GNPC, Aker Energy, Newmont And Others To Support Medical Drone Project
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has urged the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Ghana Gas, Aker Energy, Newmont Ghana and other corporate entities to support Ghana’s medical drone initiative which is saving lives, especially in hard-to-reach areas. areas of Ghana.
Dr. Bawumia spoke during the commissioning of the third Zipline medical drone delivery site located in Vobsi in the Northeast Region West Mamprusi Township.
The cost of delivering medical products to the various healthcare facilities is paid by corporate entities inside and outside of Ghana, while Zipline and its partners also pay for the setup of the infrastructure, drones and all their software.
The vice president said: “The cost of this life-saving intervention does not fall squarely on the shoulders of the government. Several organizations have already donated money to the fund dedicated to paying for Zipline’s shipping cost. I want to take this opportunity to extend my sincere appreciation to these corporate entities that are bearing the cost of this important innovation through their corporate social responsibility obligations. I encourage other companies like Ghana Gas, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and others that have pledged their support to kindly redeem these commitments immediately. “
Zipline Ghana’s General Manager, Mr. Daniel Marfo, also announced that the company completed the construction of the four distribution sites in a record period of twelve months after the launch of the first site in April 2019.
He said that at full capacity, the four distribution centers will serve about 2,000 health facilities.
Dr. Bawumia also called for the rapid extension of the drone service to cover the entire country.
“There are several health facilities in Upper West, Volta, Oti, Bono East and some other places along the coasts that this service must reach urgently,” he said.
Zipline’s services are in high demand today especially in the five northern regions that have been affected by the recent floods.
Daily emergency medical deliveries from the Vobsi distribution site have soared from an average of fifty to ninety, which received praise from Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Okoe Boye.
Dr. Okoe Boye said, “This, while just numbers, is actually real lives that are saved on a daily basis. Therefore, all of us, in government and outside of government, must give our full support to this project, as it is solving one of the critical needs in the provision of health services; speed in access to critical medical products ”.
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