Kaduna Govt, Zipline announce first medical drone delivery service
The Kaduna State Government, says it is partnering with Zipline, a distribution service company, to transform access and availability of routine and emergency medicine for Nigerians in the state.
The state Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, made this known in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Mr Muyiwa Adekeye, on Wednesday.
Reports state that the revolutionary new service is expected to launch operations in the second quarter of 2021.
It is part of the state government’s vision of using drone delivery to establish universal, seven-days-a-week access to lifesaving and critical medicines for most of its more than eight million citizens over the coming years.
El-Rufai said the revolutionary new service would use drones to make on-demand deliveries of hundreds of different vaccines, blood products and life-saving medications.
“The new solution is to increase access and reduce medical waste, key stock of blood products, vaccines and life-saving medications. All these will be stored at Zipline’s distribution centres for just-in-time delivery.
“Health workers will place orders by text message or call, and promptly receive their deliveries in 30 minutes on average.
“The drones both take off from and land at Zipline’s distribution centres, requiring no additional infrastructure or manpower at the clinics they serve.
“The drones fly autonomously and can carry 1.8 kilos of cargo, cruising at 110 kilometres an hour, and have a round trip range of 160 kilometres – even in high speed winds and rain,’’ he said.
El-Rufai said the service would operate 24 hours daily, seven days a week, from three distribution centres with each equipped with 30 drones and deliver to more than one thousand health facilities, serving millions of people across the state.
The governor said all the three distribution centres together would be capable of micro targeting the delivery of more than six tons of medical products each week over more than 60,000 square kilometres.
He said: “Kaduna State is focussed on delivering one of the best public healthcare systems in Nigeria.
“The state has upgraded 255 primary healthcare centres, one in each political ward, to improve access to healthcare services.
“It is also implementing a supply chain transformation programme in the health sector, including the installation of a Pharmagrade warehouse, to efficiently service the needs of hospitals for medicines, consumables and vaccines.
“Our primary healthcare board is recruiting and training three thousand officers to manage these systems and ensure that health facilities do not experience stock outs.
“While we celebrate our successes, we must also recognise that we have much more work to do to create universal access to critical healthcare for all.”
According to him, the agreement with Zipline builds on and adds value to the initiatives to strengthen the capacity of the Kaduna State Healthcare System.
“This new emergency drone delivery service is a great solution to deliver vaccines, blood and other lifesaving products instantly when time is of essence.
“It will help ensure that millions of people in Kaduna State will always get the care they need,” he said.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer of Zipline, Keller Rinaudo, said that where Nigerians live should not determine whether or not they have access to medicine they need.
Rinaudo said: “That’s why I’m so proud of our partnership with Kaduna State.
“Our work together will help transform the quality of care for millions and help make Nigeria a world leader in using technology to expand universal healthcare access.”
