Rwanda leading the way with life-saving drone tech
Rwanda shows how rapidly-developing drone technology can improve healthcare
infrastructure at a national scale.
In late 2016, the Government of Rwanda entered
a Public Private Partnership with automated logistics
company Zipline to deliver blood and medical
supplies, becoming the first country to deploy drones
at national scale. Based out of Half Moon Bay in Silicon
Valley, Zipline is operating in Rwanda in partnership
with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UPS Foundation.
The current first phase of the partnership is with 21
hospitals in the southwestern region of the country,
reputed for its rugged mountainous terrain, making
access to hospitals difficult, especially during the rainy
season.
As of December 2017 the partnership told a
compelling story: over 3, 200 on-demand deliveries
by SMS text message had been made, predominantly
to serve postpartum hemorrhaging mothers. When an
order is made, the drone leaves Zipline’s warehouse
facility within 12 minutes, dropping the supplies in a
designated zone of the hospital in a biodegradable
package. Upon fulfillment delivery the hospital staff is notified by SMS text message.
Today Zipline’s deliveries save the National Centre
for Blood Transfusion an estimated 20 percent,
compared to costs of the prior delivery mechanisms,
and is integrated to the National Hemo-vigilance
system to support monitoring and forecasting for the
blood distribution cold chain – the network for critical
and perishable medical products.
The use of drones has addressed a number of challenges
including slow response time to remote hospitals
(about two hours to deliver blood) and improved
resource management, including of refrigeration facilities
and delivery vehicles.
The use of drones has addressed a number of challenges
including slow response time to remote hospitals
(about two hours to deliver blood) and improved
resource management, including of refrigeration facilities
and delivery vehicles.
Laying the foundation
With few benchmark examples, in 2016 when the
Government of Rwanda embarked on this partnership,
stakeholders from various Government institutions
(Health, ICT, Aviation and Infrastructure) focused
on strong collaboration to establish the appropriate
policy and regulatory frameworks for drone delivery. In
addition to this, awareness programmes were carried
out in communities across the country, to ensure the
acceptance of this new technology.
The public private partnership model was imperative
to ensure maximum impact and the ability to
sustainably scale the project. Eighteen months later,
as Zipline deliveries increase, and as the industry
grows, key actions have been taken to foster investment
and innovation in drones, including the adoption
of performance-based regulations.
Earlier this year Jean de Dieu Rurangirwa, Rwanda’s
Minister of ICT noted that: “As we look to the future,
we will continue to put in place the infrastructure
and policy frameworks that accelerate the adoption
of emerging technologies to transform people’s lives.”
Capacity building
The Government of Rwanda recognises that working
with technology pioneers like Zipline presents an
opportunity, not only to improve service delivery to
its people, but also to spur innovation and multiplier
effects as a result of employing Rwandans. In fact
technology is a pillar of the country’s plan to become
a knowledge-based economy by 2050
A cornerstone of the partnership with Zipline is
that the company employs Rwandans and ensures the
diffusion of technical knowledge in the development
and operation of their drone technology. Today over
95 percent of the staff are locals including pharmacists,
engineers, nurses and biotechnologists
As drone innovation and other technologies continue to play a pivotal role in delivering quality
healthcare to Rwandans, the Government of Rwanda
and Zipline entered a new partnership to establish
a training institute for drones to serve as a regional
Center of Excellence
A model
Rwanda’s experience is a demonstration that it is
possible for Government to collaborate with the private
sector to harness technology to benefit its citizens. In
2017 the Government of Tanzania entered a partnership
with Zipline to deliver blood and medical supplies.
These partnerships with Zipline may serve as
models for other governments looking to unlock the
potential of drones in improved healthcare delivery.
This is especially true for environments with inadequate
transportation and road infrastructure, resulting
in increased costs for distribution, and hampering the
cold supply chain management to healthcare facilities.
Every context shall be different, but a clear vision;
appropriate governance (policy and regulatory frameworks)
and an emphasis on developing local capacity
have proven to be paramount. It is also important for
policy-makers to actively engage with a diverse set
of stakeholders in order to maximise the benefits of
adopting drone technology to transform their healthcare
systems and improve their citizens’ lives.