Science, Technology and Healthcare Delivery in Ghana: A Historical Perspective

Adu-Gyamfi, Samuel; Adjei, Prince Osei‐Wusu; Oware, Richard; Okine, Ernest Foley

doi:10.17107/kh.2019.18.94-115

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The Ghanaian drone policy was implemented by the government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to contribute to addressing Ghana's healthcare fragility. Commencing in April 2019, the vice president of the country launched the world largest medical drone delivery network in the Eastern Region of Ghana (Adu-Gyamfi et al, 2019;Ministry of Health, 2019). Similar to the Rwandan case, the drone service in Ghana was designed and installed -and is currently being controlled-by a US-based Zipline International Inc. in partnership with the Ghana Health Service (Ghana Health Service, 2017).…”

Section: The Ghanaian Casementioning

confidence: 99%

Historicizing medical drones in Africa: a focus on Ghana

Adu-Gyamfi

Gyasi

Darkwa

2021

Hist. sci. technol.

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While the genesis of the drone technology is not clear, one thing is ideal: it emerged as a military apparatus and gained much attention during major wars, including the two world wars. Aside being used in combats and to deliver humanitarian services, drones have also been used extensively to kill both troops and civilians. Revolutionized in the 19th century, the drone technology was improved to be controlled as an unmanned aerial devices to mainly target troops. A new emerging field that has seen the application of the drone technology is the healthcare sector. Over the years, the health sector has increasingly relied on the device for timely transportation of essential articles across the globe. Since its introduction in health, scholars have attempted to address the impact of drones on healthcare across Africa and the world at large. Among other things, it has been reported by scholars that the device has the ability to overcome the menace of weather constraints, inadequate personnel and inaccessible roads within the healthcare sector. This notwithstanding, data on drones and drone application in Ghana and her healthcare sector in particular appears to be little within the drone literature. Also, few attempts have been made by scholars to highlight the use of drones in African countries. By using a narrative review approach, the current study attempts to address the gap above. Using this approach, a thorough literature search was performed to locate and assess scientific materials that focus on the application of drones in the military field and in the medical systems of Africa and Ghana in particular. With its sole responsibility to deliver items, stakeholders of health across several parts of the world have relied on drones to transport vital articles to health centers. Countries like Senegal, Madagascar, Rwanda and Malawi encouraged Ghana to consider the application of drones in her mainstream healthcare delivery. Findings from the study have revealed that Ghana’s adoption of the drone policy has enhanced the timely delivery of products such as test samples, blood and Personal Protective Equipment to various health centres and rural areas in particular. Drones have contributed to the delivery of equity in healthcare delivery in Ghana. We conclude that with the drone policy, the continent has the potential to record additional successes concerning the over-widened gap in healthcare between rural and urban populations.

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Section: The Ghanaian Casementioning

confidence: 99%

Historicizing medical drones in Africa: a focus on Ghana

Adu-Gyamfi

Gyasi

Darkwa

2021

Hist. sci. technol.

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“…After independence, Kwame Nkrumah set up a seven-year policy plan for national reconstruction development (Adu-Gyamfi et al, 2019). Adu- Gyamfi (2019) have emphasized that science and technology have always been part of the revolutionized vision of Ghana's national policy since independence. In the energy sector, Nkrumah started the construction and the completion of the first hydro-electric plant in 1965 to generate electricity for all the people throughout the country (Brew-Hammond, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The role of science and technology including the use of renewable energy technologies in helping achieve economic advances, education, infrastructure, and improvements in all sectors including electricity self-sufficiency has been emphasized by Adu-Gyamfi (2019) in their seminal work "Science, technology and healthcare delivery in Ghana: A historical perspective". However, in considering such a model, the analysis in this study shows that more efforts will be needed at the grass-root level to ensure reliable and universal access to electricity (Adu- Gyamfi et al, 2019). Apeaning & Thollander (2013), also aiming at enhancing the knowledge of industrial energy efficiency and management strategies in Ghana, have investigated the present level of energy (and efficiency) management practices in Ghana's largest industrial park, the Tema industrial area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An evolutionary study of production of electricity in Ghana (1900–1960s)

Adu-Gyamfi

Amakye-Boateng

Awuah

et al. 2020

Hist. sci. technol.

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The literature on the history of electricity production have studied the evolution of electricity in both developed and developing countries and its impact on their economies. Some have laid foundations upon which other works are carried out. A close examination of the historiography on electricity production in Ghana shows that more efforts are required to improve the electric power landscape in Ghana. From the colonial era, the increasing demand for electricity has been the biggest challenge plaguing the energy sector. Respective governments have made significant strides in ensuring reliable and universal access to electricity throughout Ghana, yet such efforts have been accompanied by different levels of challenges. The study uses a qualitative and exploratory research approach to trace the activities that helped, in many other ways to the creation of a sustainable electric power provision to household and industry in Ghana, particularly in two of Ghana’s cities; Accra and Kumasi, within the period 1900 to the1960s. The work focused mainly on archival sources in its quest to arrive at how indigenous Ghanaians provided power for industrial activities and for household purposes. Results from the study show that local and cottage industries relied predominantly on wood, fuel, and biomass for their operations even before the introduction of the more sophisticated means of power generation. Also, the study revealed that in finding solutions to the challenges of electricity production, policymakers have focused more on current issues with little or no effort to trace the historical foundation of electricity production. Notwithstanding, the little efforts that have been made examine the history of energy production, with a limited focus on the immediate post-independence era.

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