World's largest medical drone delivery network takes flight in Ghana

The largest drone delivery network in the world has been launched in Ghana, which experts say will save lives and transform the developing nation’s healthcare sector.

The drone network is set to deliver blood, essential medicines and vaccinations across the middle-income, West African country.

Speaking about the official launch of the service on April 24, Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said it was part of a drive to ensure universal access to lifesaving medicine in Ghana.

“No one in Ghana should die because they can’t access the medicine they need in an emergency,” he said. “We must do everything within our means to ensure that each and every citizen of Ghana has access to the quality healthcare they deserve.”

The drone service is designed, installed and operated by US-based Zipline International Inc in partnership with the Ghana Health Service, a public agency under the control of the Minister for Health.

Zipline launched in Rwanda in 2016 to deliver blood to hard-to-reach communities. Since then the drones have helped to ensure hospitals in Rwanda always have access to blood products, increasing the use of rare and specialised blood products by 175 per cent and reducing waste and spoilage by over 95 per cent.

Zipline’s head of communications, Justin Hamilton, said the service was about overcoming “last mile delivery problems” − an issue for both developed and developing nations.

“The further outside the major city you get, the more difficult it is for you to access the blood, medicine and care you need to stay healthy and alive.”

Initially, the service will operate from Omenako in Ghana’s Eastern Region, about 70km north of the capital Accra.  The centre is home to the drones as well as the blood and medicines they will send out.

By the end of the year, Ghana should have an additional three centres operating through the country, meaning 12 million people will be covered by the service. Each centre will be equipped with 30 drones capable of delivering 150 different types of medical products to over 2,000 health facilities.

As has been the case in Rwanda, healthcare workers in Ghana will be able to place an order to a Zipline centre, to be delivered by drones at a speed of about 100km an hour, within 30 minutes on average.

The drone does not land when delivering its goods, instead, it releases the package to drop down with a parachute while the drone then returns to the centre. The drones can do a return trip of about 160 kilometres, over remote mountains, rivers, and washed-out roads in all weather conditions.

Elizabeth Cobbinah at the Omenako centre is part of the team responsible for filling the orders.

In a temperate controlled room, she watches screens for orders coming in. The medicines sit on shelves in the room and the blood products in refrigerators.

When a request comes in she will type it into the system, another officer will pack the requested products into an insulated red box, all the while sending updates to the facility which had requested it. It will then be handed over to a flight operator who will put the drone’s body, battery and wings together, then send it on its way, zipping off the launcher.

The centre is at a vantage point as it can serve hard-to-reach rural areas, where it can take about two hours to reach by road, Miss Cobbinah said.

“In the case of an emergency, every minute counts.  Zipline being here will be able to deliver to them in 15 to 45 minutes to save lives.”

Ahead of the official launch on April 24, the drones had been on test runs, delivering to a government hospital about 45 minutes by road from the Omenako centre, but 12 minutes by drone.

Between the centre and the hospital are farmlands, small townships of concrete homes and corrugated iron roofs and people selling foodstuffs from wooden shacks along narrow, dusty roads.

Sandra Kissi a nurse at the New Tafo Government Hospital watched as the drone-delivered vaccines to the hospital. She has high hopes for the service.

“It makes work easier because if you need something in an emergency you get it as soon as you want it - it’s in your hands.”

Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, said the contract with Zipline is worth 12.5 million USD over four years – but the government are working to source external funding to pay for it, including from corporate bodies and developmental partners.

The drones would complement other health sector investments Ghana was making – including increasing its ambulance fleet, which will also be able to use the service – Dr Nsiah-Asare added.

“If there is a mass casualty or mass epidemic somewhere and the ambulance is going there, we can drop the essential medicines we need to start treatment to the ambulance, or the accident site or emergency site,” he explained.

Aside from emergency deliveries, the drones will help fill the gaps between regular bulk delivery of medicines through Ghana’s communities, so if a community needs a certain medicine and runs out before its regular deliveries they can order it using the drones.

Zipline’s expansion reflects the growing use of drone technologies across Africa in recent years. This week UK aid announced plans to increase drones usage during humanitarian crises to help quickly search for survivors, map areas at risk of disease and help direct the delivery of aid.

“Through our partnership with Gavi, UK aid is helping Ghana to launch the world’s largest drone delivery service providing life-saving vaccines to millions of children and giving them access to the essential healthcare they deserve," said Penny Mordaunt, International Development Secretary.

“Immunisation is a crucial part of all our lives and no child should suffer at the hands of a vaccine-preventable disease. This cutting edge technology will make sure vital medical supplies reach those who need it most,” she added.

The UN has also been using surveillance drones for peacekeeping operations across Africa where drones provide real-time pictures of situations as they develop. While also in Ghana, a private company has been flying agriculture drones in farms offering precise crop spraying, covering in 15 minutes the same ground that usually takes five workers an hour.

But its not only developing nations where drones are being deployed. Zipline said it was also planning to launch in North Carolina in the US this year.

Meanwhile, other African nations were watching Ghana to see if the drone service might work in their health sectors, Zipline’s Mr Hamilton said.

“The expertise and the learnings captured here in Ghana will eventually be leveraged in building out the capacities of future countries, so Ghana is really shining a pathway forward for the rest of the world.”

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