The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has clarified that government is actively engaging global drone-delivery company Zipline to review the terms of its operations in Ghana, stressing that the objective is to ensure value for money.

Speaking at the Government Accountability Series at the Presidency on Monday, December 1, 2025, the minister revealed that the original contract, signed in 2018 and implemented from 2019, included take-or-pay clauses requiring the Government of Ghana (GoG) to pay $88,000 per centre per month, irrespective of the volume of services rendered.

With six operational centres, Ghana currently spends more than half a million dollars every month on the service.

“A contract was signed in 2018, and as part of that contract, Ghana is supposed to pay $88,000 per centre per month. With six centres, we are paying a little over half a million dollars every month,” he said.

Mr Akandoh added that although the agreement was publicly presented at the time as one that would not place a burden on the Consolidated Fund, the current reality contradicts that assurance.

“The then minister responsible for health said clearly on the floor of Parliament that the public purse was not going to come in here. Yet today, Government of Ghana is paying huge sums of money every month for the same service,” he noted.

Hard-to-Reach Areas Account for Only 12% of Deliveries

According to the minister, the primary justification for introducing the Zipline drone service was to support hard-to-reach communities and emergency medical situations. However, a recent review by the ministry indicated that only a small percentage of deliveries fit these categories.

“Upon review, what we realised is that the hard-to-reach areas constitute only 12% of the activities — just twelve percent — and emergency services constitute only 4%,” he explained.

He further revealed that several items delivered by the drones fell outside the original scope of essential medical supplies.

“It will interest you to know that they fly items like condoms, mosquito nets, blood donor cards — not blood, but blood donor cards — syringes, needles, and even educational materials like textbooks, exercise books and uniforms,” he said.

Government Not Abandoning Zipline

Mr Akandoh dismissed reports suggesting that government intended to terminate its relationship with Zipline, stressing that ongoing engagements aimed to improve efficiency, not to end the service.

“If you hear that we are not engaging Zipline, it is not true. We have met them more than three times, and we are still engaging them. The president has directed that everything we do must deliver value for money,” he stated.

He emphasised that while drone technology remained important to Ghana’s health delivery system, its operations must align with national priorities and fiscal realities.

“We all agree technology is important. But we must ensure value for money. That is the directive his excellency the president has given to all ministries, including the ministry of health,” he added.

Next Steps

The minister said government was collaborating with Zipline and other stakeholders to restructure the operational model, redefine deliverables, and reassess cost commitments to ensure the system delivers maximum benefit.

“We want to know how to achieve efficiency, reduce waste and improve value for money. That is all we are doing, and Zipline is cooperating in these discussions,” he said.

He assured the public that all essential health services will continue uninterrupted as negotiations proceed.