adverts
The Country Manager of Zipline Ghana, Daniel Kwaku Merki, has dismissed allegations that the company’s medical drones are being used to deliver non-essential items such as condoms and textbooks, insisting that such occurrences are “extremely rare” and strictly guided by the Ministry of Health.
His rebuttal comes in response to claims made by the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, who stated during the Government Accountability Series on Monday, December 1, 2025, that the multi-million-dollar drone programme had deviated from its primary mandate of supplying life-saving medical commodities to remote health facilities.
Speaking to the media, Mr Merki strongly rejected the assertion that Zipline’s operations have been compromised.
adverts
According to him, data from the company shows that only one out of every 20,000 drone flights involves items like condoms, and even those requests come directly from agencies under the Ministry of Health, not from Zipline.
“Critical life-saving commodities we have delivered have saved lives to the tune of 10,000. There are emergencies we attend to. There are many nuances to these critical deliveries,” he said.
“There is a list we work with from the Ministry of Health of products we are mandated to deliver.”
He emphasised that Zipline serves strictly as a logistics partner and does not determine what supplies are dispatched.
Mr Merki reiterated that Zipline does not independently choose the items it transports.
“Supply continuously comes from the agencies under the Ministry of Health. Even if you want to go deep on this line of questioning, I don’t think I’m the best person to answer because we work with the Ministry and its agencies to ensure we make the most critical deliveries,” he explained.
He further clarified that even when condoms were delivered, they were not sent as standalone packages but were included alongside other essential health commodities such as maternal care supplies, vaccines, or emergency kits.
Background of the controversy
The Health Minister’s remarks have reignited debate around the operational integrity of the Zipline drone service, an initiative launched to ensure timely delivery of:
- Blood and blood products
- Vaccines
- Emergency medications
- Essential drugs for rural health facilities
The minister argued that the programme is being used outside its approved scope, but Zipline maintains that every flight is traced, documented, and authorised under protocols set by the Ministry of Health.
Zipline Ghana, which operates several distribution centres across the country, says its drones continue to support nationwide healthcare by delivering thousands of emergency medical supplies each month, often within minutes, to facilities that would otherwise wait hours.
The company expressed willingness to engage further with the ministry to clarify processes and strengthen public confidence in the programme.
Click the link Puretvonline.com | WhatsApp Channel to join the WhatsApp channel
GOT A STORY?
Contact/WhatsApp: +233243201960 or manuelnkansah33@gmail.com
