Immediate past commissioner for health in Bayelsa State, Dr Padara Netson Igwele, has disclosed that Zipline, a logistics delivery company whose drone services deliver drugs to remote and riverine communities, has facilitated more than 13,500 deliveries of medical supplies including 537,000 doses of vaccines to 210 health facilities in the state.
Igwele who stated this during an interview with newsmen in Yenagoa, said that Bayelsa State has been grappling with the most alarming health indicators nationwide before the adoption of the drone services, adding that the implementation of the drone delivery system has revolutionized healthcare delivery in the state.
A visit to some medical facilities in the remote and riverine villages in Ogbia and Yenagoa local government areas of the state, showed that the healthcare providers and nursing mothers are satisfied with the improvement of healthcare indices, with immunization compliance rising to over 97 percent in January 2024.
According to the officer in charge of Otuokpoti Primary Heath Centre, Mrs Ase Adiogbogbo, receiving drugs and medicals via drones have helped the health facility in prompt service delivery as well as to adequately attend to patients in a situation of emergency.
“The experience has been wonderful, they are prompt in delivering the product especially the vaccines we order from them. So, whenever we request, they are prompt in bringing it and the drones, initially we were having issues but for now, everything is good. They drop at the proper site here in the hospital before we store them in our storage facility”, she said.
A nursing mother, Mrs Elizabeth Akpo, said that her children could not get a complete dose of immunization at the Otuokpoti Primary Heath Centre because of unavailability of vaccines due to the issue of accessibility of the area, adding that the situation is different now as her child gets vaccines at any of her schedule date.
The head of clinical services at Kolo General Hospital in Ogbia LGA, Dr Opukumo Wilson Alaxendra, said that the drone services in Bayelsa hospitals is an innovation designed to improve the health needs of the people in the rural areas of the state.
“I can say it is the best technology so far, because if you should look for any item that is not available probably, maybe you go to the market to look for it and it’s not there, you can get it as you place the call, they fly the consumables across to you”, he said.
Also, the immunisation officer at Agudama Ekpetiama General Hospital in Yenagoa local government area, Dr Agabugene Timineri, said the technological innovation is big improvement in the health system in Bayelsa State, as the ordered vaccines get to them in the matter of 10 minutes compare to when they will have to travel hours to the city centre to get drugs for patients who needs emergency attention.
