– Immunization compliance rises to 97%
From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Healthcare providers and nursing mothers in Bayelsa state have expressed satisfaction with the adoption of drones’ services to supply drugs and other medicals to hospitals in Bayelsa state, saying it has boosted immunization compliance by 97 percent and address the issue of drugs shortages, especially in the health facilities located in the remote areas.
Bayelsa state government had in 2022 entered partnership with 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, a situation that has facilitated more than 13, 500 deliveries of medical supplies including 537,000 doses of vaccines to 210 health facilities in the state.
Speaking with newsmen who visited some medical facilities in the remote and riverain villages in Ogbia and Yenagoa Local Government Areas of the state, some nursing mothers said they no longer have issues of unavailability of vaccines for children’s immunization in rural hospitals in the state.
A nursing mother, Mrs Elizabeth Akpo, said at Otuokpoti Primary Health Centre in Ogbia Local Government Area, who disclosed that the previous situation whereby some of her children could not get complete dose of immunization because the hospital always complain of the non-availability of vaccines due to the accessibility of the area to Yenagoa, has been reversed as vaccines are now available.
Mrs Ase Adiogbogbo, a medical personnel at the health facility said receiving drugs and medicals via drones has helped in prompt health care service delivery.
She said: “The experience has been wonderful; they are prompt in delivering the product, especially the vaccines we order from them. Just like the situation of immunization, you know this is rural hospital, we deal mostly with nursing mothers, there has been improvement in our healthcare delivery, because before now, sometimes it takes time for the vaccine to get to us, when it happened, we get out of stock, but now, there is no shortage of drugs, no complaint about abandoning of patients again due to lack of drugs,’’.
The Head of Clinical Services at Kolo General hospital in Ogbia Local Government, Dr Opukumo Wilson Alaxendra, said the drone services in Bayelsa hospitals is an innovation designed to improve the health needs of the people of the rural areas in Bayelsa state.
According to him, the drone technology deployed by Ziplinehas made health care delivery in rural areas seamless.
Immunization officer at Agudama Ekpetiama General Hospital in Yenagoa Local Government, Dr Agabugene Timineri, said the technological innovation is a big improvement in the health system in Bayelsa state, as the ordered vaccines get to them in the matter of 10 minutes, compare to when they will have to travelled hours to the city centre to get drugs for patients who needs emergency attention.