Cross River to deploy drones to deliver medical supplies

The Cross River government is set to deploy drones to deliver medical supplies to hard-to-reach areas of the state.

The government says it will partner with Zipline, a drone delivery company, on the supply of drugs and other medical essentials to such areas.

Speaking on Monday during the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Zipline officials in Calabar, Ben Ayade, the state governor, said the project will begin within the next 90 days.

He also noted that Zipline will be a major stakeholder in quality healthcare delivery in the state, especially when Calapharm, the state’s pharmaceutical company, commences operations.

“When our pharmaceutical company starts running, it will be a major producer of most of these drugs and we believe that your expertise will really be needed around that area since your delivery time is just about 30 minutes,” Ayade said.

“We have to have them across the three senatorial districts to guarantee that from the point of despatch to the point of delivery, we should be able to do 30 minutes per package.”

Daniel Marfo, Zipline’s senior vice president, said the governor’s strides in the health sector are commendable and pledged his company’s commitment to sustaining the tempo.

“We are most pleased with your dynamic vision of ensuring that Cross River state leapfrogs the tradition and the norms by taking a step to the future,” he said.

In her remarks, Betta Edu, the state commissioner for health, said the drone delivery system is a game changer in “ensuring that medical supplies, drugs, vaccines can be delivered to health centres in real time and in the shortest possible time so that people can get help when they need it”.