[ 2021-02-27 ]

Zipline, UPS partner with govt to deliver first COVID-19 vaccines
The national-scale drone delivery service,
Zipline, has announced a successful collaboration
with UPS and The UPS Foundation to assist the
government of Ghana in the delivery of COVID-19
vaccines across Ghana.
Supported by the coordination of UPS Healthcare
with vaccine manufacturers, UPS deliveries of
initial vaccines arrived this week in Ghana from
the COVAX Facility and transportation will begin
swiftly within Ghana.

The UPS Foundation mobilized its distribution
network to receive the vaccines from the Kotoka
International Airport to the National Cold Room
operated by the Expanded Programme for
Immunization of the Ghana Health Service.



UPS will next support the distribution of the bulk
vaccine cargo to regional cold rooms and Zipline
distribution centers in Omenako, Mpanya, Vobsi and
Sefwi Wiawso.

As part of the government’s planned vaccination
rollout, Zipline will then provide on-demand
delivery of doses directly to health facilities.

On-demand delivery of vaccines will allow the
government to increase access to the vaccine to
rural areas lacking cold chain storage and will
minimize wastage, as doses can be sent as needed,
arriving in as little as 15-30 minutes.

“The UPS Foundation is committed to support the
equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around
the globe”, says Nicole Clifton, President of
the UPS Foundation. “UPS is pleased to partner
with Zipline and the Government of Ghana to
advance health and wellbeing for the Ghanaian
community. This is a moment like no other and it
demands the expertise that UPS has developed in
Healthcare Logistics. We are moving the world
forward by delivering what matters and UPS is
proud to be a key player in the global
public-private partnerships helping to distribute
vaccines to the world.”





The Government of Ghana integrated Zipline’s
medical drone delivery service into its health
supply chain in April 2019 with support from Gavi,
the Vaccine Alliance, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, the UPS Foundation and other partners.
Zipline enables instant access to hundreds of
health commodities for thousands of health
facilities across the country. Zipline’s current
network in Ghana can reach up to half the
population and is slated to expand to the entire
country later this year.

The General Manager of Zipline Ghana, Naa Adorkor
Yawson, said, “Zipline is honored to be a key
partner of the Ministry of Health in the roll-out
of the COVID-19 vaccines. Our services enable
equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine to all
Ghanaians, even in areas that do not have cold
chain equipment. On-demand delivery service also
prevents waste and spoilage of the vaccines by
only sending the exact amount required by each
facility at any given time. Zipline has the
capacity to deliver vaccines, even those that
require ultra-low temperatures, to the over 1,000
health facilities that we currently serve.”

“With supply limited for the foreseeable future,
COVID-19 vaccines are arguably the world’s most
precious commodity this year,” said Dr. Seth
Berkley, CEO of Gavi. “With every dose being so
important, it is critical to ensure that our
partner countries have the necessary support and
tools to deliver vaccines effectively and
efficiently to those who need them. This new
support builds on the long-standing partnership
between Gavi and the UPS Foundation, which is
focused on ensuring that every child in
Gavi-supported countries receives lifesaving
vaccines.”


The Ghana Health Service, UPS Healthcare and
Zipline will collaborate to ensure the safe
handling and delivery of the vaccines within the
delivery schedule. The Ghana Health Service will
deploy their delivery vans, with UPS doing the
same to ensure swift delivery while Zipline
receives the vaccines and delivers via drones to
hard-to-reach areas within their operational
areas.

On February 23, COVAX shipped 600,000 doses of the
AstraZeneca/ Oxford vaccine, from the Serum
Institute of India (SII) from Pune, India to
Accra, Ghana, arriving on the morning of February
24

Source - Graphic Online

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