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General News on Friday, April 26, 2019
Source: thechronicle.com.gh
2019-04-26
Kwaku Agyemang Manu, Minister of Health
In a very humorous way, the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, now prefers to call himself "minister of drones", especially from his fellow MPs on the other side of the political divide.
The minister, who could not hide his joy after the launch of the drone project distributing emergency health care products to health centers, accepted the name given him by his colleagues in Parliament.
At the ceremony yesterday in Omenako, in the Eastern Region, to launch the project "Let's fly to save a life", the minister recalled that when the government presented the project to Parliament, his colleagues began calling him Minister of Drones.
He added that, despite the difficult processes, he was proud that his sector had achieved the vision of President Akufo-Addo to see the light of day.
"In Parliament, some of my colleagues call me the drones minister. But from now on, when I will be in Parliament, I will tell them that they should stop calling me Kwaku Agyemang Manu and call me the drones minister, "he told reporters. bursts of laughter from the dignitaries.
However, the Vice President who initiated the project described it as part of the Akufo-Addo-led administration's commitment to improve the delivery of health care in the country.
He added that without the hard work, dedication and commitment of the government, the project would have remained a dream, adding that the quality of health care was essential to the sustainable development of each country.
He felt that the drone project would prevent many deaths due to late delivery of drugs or other health care products, pointing out that with drones, all references based on the lack of drugs will be avoided.
As part of the launch, a demonstration was organized. The medical products were packed in a drone located in the medical warehouse of the Omenako factory and delivered to Tafo Hospital, about an hour's drive from Omenako.
After packing the health products requested in the drone, the destination was set using a Global Positioning System (GPS).
The drone was placed on a machine, called launcher, en route to the destination. The health facility recipient was notified by a phone call. In 15 minutes, the hospital received the package and the drone returned. It was recovered by a recovery system composed of metal and solid rope set up on the site.
Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, said the project is a performance-based public-private partnership. He explained that Tyrolean would be paid only on delivery, so no delivery, no salary.
In addition to the eastern region, Dr. Nsiah said the center would reach Greater Accra and central regions.
The drones fly independently and can carry 1.8 kg of cargo, for a cruising speed of 110 km / h and a return range of 160 km in all weather. Each Zipline distribution center can deliver on an area of 20,000 km2.
The service will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from 4 distribution centers each equipped with 30 drones, and will serve 2,000 health centers serving 12 million people across the country. About 150 medical products would be distributed.
Together, the four distribution centers will deliver up to 600 on-demand delivery flights per day on behalf of the Government of Ghana. Each Zipline Distribution Center can perform up to 500 flights a day.
The first installation in Omenako, of about four booked, has 20 employees, all Ghanaians, who operate the installation for drones.
Okyenhene, Amoatia Ofori Panin II, who said he was delighted that such a project was launched on its territory, called for a culture of appropriate maintenance as well as the Honesty and commitment of staff and stakeholders.
Mr. Keller Rinuado, Managing Director of Zipline International, said that since launching its drone delivery service in Rwanda in October 2016, Zipline has traveled more than a million autonomous kilometers. The company has made more than 13,000 deliveries, about one-third of them in emergency situations, while a person's life was at stake.
Zipline now provides more than 65 percent of Rwanda's blood supply outside the capital, Kigali.
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