The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has revealed that the 2018 contract with Zipline requires a payment of $88,000 a month per centre (for six centres), amounting to about $528,000 a month.
According to him, an audit reveals that only 12% of areas served qualify as “hard-to-reach” and only 4% of deliveries can be classified as “emergency,” raising significant value-for-money concerns.
He raised concerns over the deal, describing key aspects as offering poor value for money and being in need of urgent review.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, December 1, the Minister disclosed that the agreement, signed in 2018 and operational from 2019, contains “take-or-pay” clauses which may compel us to pay the above amount.
The Minister stated that the original understanding was that the Zipline service would not be funded directly from government resources, but that model has since shifted, prompting questions about the true value of the contract.
He said the remainder of the deliveries consisted largely of non-critical supplies, including textbooks, school uniforms, and condoms, which were not the core justification presented when the project was introduced as an emergency health logistics intervention.
“These figures raise serious concerns about whether we are getting value for money,” the Minister said, adding that the nature of the “take-or-pay” clauses means the country continues to incur high costs even when utilization is low.
He revealed also that the government has held multiple meetings with Zipline to renegotiate the terms of the contract, with a focus on reducing costs and aligning the service more strictly with critical health needs and emergency response.
According to Mr. Akandoh, while technology-driven solutions like drone delivery can play an important role in improving health access, contracts must be structured in a way that protects the public purse and reflects actual service usage.
He said the government remains committed to reviewing and adjusting the Zipline agreement to ensure it delivers genuine value for money and stays true to its original purpose of strengthening emergency healthcare delivery, especially in remote parts of the country.
