Zipline drone saves Mangoase students from acute diarrhoea

The timely delivery of Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) by Zipline medical drone enabled nurses at the Mangoase health centre to treat 113 students of Mangoase Senior High School who were suffering from acute diarrhoea.

Mr Seth Tawiah Agbesi, the Headmaster of Mangoase SHS, told journalists at Mangoase that the students suffered diarrhoea on Sunday, June 23, after eating groundnut soup and rice.

The Headmaster said the school did not have a bus to readily convey the affected students to hospital, therefore the  school authorities informed the health facility, who subsequently contacted Zipline Drone Centre at Omenako to supply it with ORS since there wasn't enough at the time.

Mr Agbesi said within 20 minutes Zipline drone dispatched five boxes of ORS, each box containing five packs bringing the number to 125, which was administered to the affected students.

The Headmaster lauded government and operators of Zipline Technology for establishing the centre, saying; "I was very very happy. Really, we have benefited. Initially, I thought it was for big hospitals; I didn't know it was for those of us in the rural areas."

Mr Justice Siaw, a teacher at the School, who assisted the nurses to receive and administer the medication, told the media that, some affected students visited the toilet about six times and were very weak and pale.

He said the school authorities were extremely worried but the timely arrival of the medical supplies brought a lot of relief to them.

Madam Bernice Acheampong, a Community Health Officer at the Mangoase Health Centre, said the Zipline Centre at Omenako had been very responsive to their medical needs.

She said whenever they experienced shortage of drugs, they place order and within a short time, they receive the required medical supplies.

She said previously whenever they receive emergency cases, they often refer the patients to either Koforidua or Mampong hospital, however with the establishment of the Zipline drone centre referrals have reduced.

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in April this year, launched Ghana’s largest medical drone delivery service at Omenako in the  Eastern Region, to improve medical delivery service in the country.

The service, a collaboration between the Ministry of Health and Zipline Technologies, would use drones to deliver medical supplies during emergency.

The drones are expected to deliver148 different vaccines, blood products, and life-saving medications.

The service would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from four distribution centres, with each equipped with 30 drones.

A total of 2,000 health facilities would serve 12 million people across the country.