Health Ministry Debunks Reports That Zipline Drone Delivery Will Be Halted

The Ministry of Health has assured that the employment of the services of Zipline in delivering medical supplies will be halted.

This comes after the sector Minister was cited by some media outlets as saying the services of Zipline- a company that operates delivery drones- will be halted due to “high cost and misuse”.

In a statement, the Ministry said the news was misleading.

It noted that the Minister, Hon Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, rather underscored the essence of Zipline in medical supply delivery and urged health facilities to make judicious use of it.

“The minister bemoaned the practice where health facilities place orders for Zipline services not at a time when the service is most needed.

“Due to the unpredictable nature of the emerging technologies like Zipline, it will be in the Ministry’s and its agencies’ best interest to periodically review the guidelines around its operation to ensure alignment of government policies,” the statement from the Ministry said.

It assured Hon Ayemang-Manu is committed to the services Zipline renders to the country’s health sector and will explore avenues to make it sustainable.

Meanwhile, the public has been urged to disregard the “misleading” headlines by the media.

Ghana Drone Delivery Service was launched 3 years ago to deliver medical supplies within designated areas in Ghana with the use of drones in partnership with Zipline.

The government of Ghana has been hailed for this milestone by the international community.