The government has been urged to consider expanding medical drone delivery services nationwide as part of efforts to reduce Ghana’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR).
According to the Country Director of Zipline Ghana, Mr Daniel Kwaku Merki, drone technology has demonstrated potential to not only improve timely access to essential medical commodities but to help reduce stock-outs and wastage within the healthcare supply chain.
He was speaking in an exclusive interview with The Ghanaian Times yesterday on the role of technology in strengthening the country’s healthcare system.
It followed intensified efforts by health authorities to reduce Ghana’s MMR which currently stands at 235 deaths per 100,000 live births, above the World Health Organisation (WHO) target of 70 deaths per 100,000 live births.
In 2025 alone, Ghana recorded about 965 institutional maternal deaths prompting the Ministry of Health to launch the ‘Maternal Mortality Action and Response Programme’ (MMARP) to reduce the threat by at least 30 per cent across 11 referral and teaching hospitals, over the next two years.
Citing a recent impact study of Zipline’s operations in the Ashanti region, Mr Merki said hospitals served by the company recorded a 56.4 per cent reduction in maternal mortality while improving facility-based deliveries and antenatal care visits.
He said the outcome could be replicated nationwide if access to the technology was expanded to improve maternal health outcomes.
“The study showed that it was a combination of factors, including patient behaviour that contributed to the results. Pregnant women knew that when they travelled two or three hours to a facility, the medical commodities would be available.
Why should this happen in Ashanti Region or Western North alone? Why can’t we ensure that all Ghanaians get access to this kind of impact and benefits?” he noted.
Mr Merki said Zipline’s system allowed for commodities to be centrally stored and delivered to facilities when needed, with some deliveries reaching health facilities within 30 to 40 minutes.
He expressed the company’s readiness to support the government’s efforts to expand primary healthcare to underserved communities and complement efforts at improving universal healthcare coverage (UHC), especially as Ghana pursued self-reliance in healthcare financing.
The Country Director dismissed perceptions that drone delivery placed an additional financial cost to the health system, arguing that the technology could generate savings by reducing wastage and improving the utilisation of medical commodities.
He disclosed that beyond healthcare, Zipline was exploring opportunities in agriculture, livestock vaccination and disaster response, adding that the technology could contribute to rural development.
On Artificial Intelligence (AI), Mr Merki said the emerging field was central to Zipline’s operations and presented opportunities for collaboration with Ghanaian technology companies, including startups developing telemedicine and other digital health solutions.
He said such partnerships could help bridge the gap between digital healthcare services and the physical delivery of medicines and other medical commodities.
Looking ahead, Mr Merki said the company’s immediate objective was to expand the health benefits demonstrated through its operations across the country.
He said the ultimate goal was for Zipline’s infrastructure to become integrated into Ghana’s broader health system and, beyond healthcare, support rural economic development.
“Becoming national infrastructure and delivering this service at scale is really critical to the health impact, and we don’t want to lose that opportunity,” he said.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
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