Ghana's Zipline Medical Drone Delivery Service Suffers Sharp Decline
Ghana has lost its status as the country with the world’s largest medical drone delivery network. Its decline comes as Nigeria expands to reach 100 million people.
Ghana's Medical Drone Delivery Service: The Rise and Fall
Ghana launched its Zipline medical drone delivery service with one centre, the Omenako centre in the Eastern Region, as a pilot in 2019. By 2022, the country had opened five more centres, covering over 3,000 health facilities in vulnerable communities nationwide and delivering nearly 1,000 urgent health essentials per day. But since 2025, Ghana's medical drone delivery service has suffered a significant decline. Three of the six distribution centres have been suspended due to the government’s refusal to continue funding three of the distribution hubs, leaving the service with only three active hubs. This has cut off about half the number of vulnerable communities that benefited from emergency supplies of vaccines, blood, and other medical needs.
Neighbouring Nigeria Seizes the Opportunity
While Ghana’s service suffers this setback, neighbouring Nigeria has seized the opportunity to expand its Zipline delivery service. Nigeria launched its first Zipline delivery centre in Kaduna in 2022, and later expanded with three more centres in Cross River and Bayelsa states, covering about 1,300 health centres and 13 million people. Following the impact, the Nigerian government and Zipline have announced plans to immediately build 12 additional distribution centres to move beyond health-tech pilots. The expansion, the Nigerian government says, aims to connect up to 20,000 health facilities and serve nearly 100 million Nigerians with faster access to medical supplies by 2028, which will make Nigeria the world’s largest medical drone delivery network by far.
Nigeria’s Plans to Expand Zipline Delivery Service
The Nigerian government and Zipline plan to build 12 more distribution centres to connect 20,000 health facilities and serve nearly 100 million Nigerians. This ambitious plan aims to make Nigeria the world’s largest medical drone delivery network. Nigeria’s expansion of the Zipline delivery service comes as Ghana struggles to maintain its own medical drone delivery network.
Ghana’s Lost Opportunity
Ghana's medical drone delivery service has suffered a significant decline since 2025. The service, which had six distribution centres, now has only three active hubs. This has cut off about half the number of vulnerable communities that benefited from emergency supplies of vaccines, blood, and other medical needs. Ghana's lost opportunity comes as Nigeria seizes the moment to expand its own Zipline delivery service.
Nigeria’s Zipline Delivery Service Expansion Timeline
Nigeria launched its first Zipline delivery centre in Kaduna in 2022, and later expanded with three more centres in Cross River and Bayelsa states. The expansion will cover about 1,300 health centres and 13 million people. Following the impact, the Nigerian government and Zipline have announced plans to immediately build 12 additional distribution centres to move beyond health-tech pilots. The expansion aims to connect up to 20,000 health facilities and serve nearly 100 million Nigerians with faster access to medical supplies by 2028.
The expansion of Nigeria's Zipline delivery service comes as Ghana struggles to maintain its own medical drone delivery network. The decline of Ghana's medical drone delivery service has cut off about half the number of vulnerable communities that benefited from emergency supplies of vaccines, blood, and other medical needs.