Buoyed by the quick responses and the steady supply of vaccines for children’s immunisation and other emergencies in rural communities through drones, healthcare providers, nursing mothers and patients have applauded the Bayelsa State government and Zipline Technology.
Some patients and healthcare providers expressed happiness over adequate drugs and other medical supplies to hospitals in rural communities in the state
They said the use of drone technology has helped in boosting healthcare services to the people of the state. It would be recalled that Bayelsa State government, in 2022, entered partnership with a logistics delivery company, Zipline, to enhance the preservation of crucial cold chain medications and expand the distribution of essential medical supplies to remote health facilities across the state.
Speaking with The Guardian, some nursing mothers said they no longer had issues of unavailability of vaccines for children’s immunisations. A nursing mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Akpo, at Otuokpoti Primary Heath Centre in Ogbia Local Council, said that in the past,some children could not get complete doses of immunisation because the hospital always complained of unavailability of vaccines due to the unaccessibility of the area to Yenagoa, the state capital.
She said the situation was different as her “child now gets vaccines on schedule dates.” She said: “Anytime I come, they attend to me quickly and there is always injection anytime I come, they no longer give us any excuse, as a farmer, I don’t have much time to wait in the hospital, that is why I very happy with the recent healthcare attention to me in the hospital.
The Head of Clinical Services at Kolo General hospital in Ogbia Local Council, Dr. Opukumo Alaxendra, said the drone services “is an innovation designed to improve the health needs of the people of the rural areas in 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.
“Zipline has rendered so much services that we can  not over emphasize, the truth about is that they respond quickly whenever you request  and more so I can say is the safest and the best possible way to get drugs from the source.” He said.
Immunisation Officer at Agudama Ekpetiama General Hospital in Yenagoa Local Council, 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, compared to when they would have to travel for hours to the city centre to get drugs for patients, who needs emergency attention.
