The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) is calling on the government to immediately suspend the planned implementation of a policy that will see to the delivery of blood and other medical supplies to remote areas using drones.
Parliament Tuesday approved a $12.5 million deal to contract US-based Fly Zipline International to distribute critical medical supplies across the country for four years.
Read:$12.5 million drone contract approved by Parliament
But the GMA in a press statement Tuesday observed the need for a broader stakeholder consultation on the issue to set some fundamentals before the implementation of the policy.
The Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) had earlier shared the same concerns as the GMA kicking against the policy and asking for a broader consultation.
Read:Lab scientists kick against blood delivery by drones; demand broader consultation
According to the GMA, it is appropriate for them as an Association of Medical Doctors and Dentists, who are stakeholders in the policy to offer their perspective on the matter even though they have not been consulted.
The GMA says it is not averse to the use of technology to improve health care delivery but noted “health should not be politicized, and the health of Ghanaians is critical”.
The GMA further observed that the proposed services to be delivered by the drone technology do not conform to the existing primary healthcare policy in the country.
The association also noted that the technology per se will not be a solution to the health care delivery challenges in the country without an improvement in human resource capacity.
GMA therefore wants the government to immediately suspend the implementation of the policy.
