FG adopts Zipline’s drone delivery to build resilient logistics for health sector

Determined to build a resilient logistics system in the health sector, the Federal Government through the Nigerian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare will deploy Zipline’s drone delivery service in delivering health products.

The partnership aimed at reducing maternal mortality, malnutrition, malaria and other intractable health challenges, will be announced on September 26, at the United Nations General Assembly.

The project is expected to build a more resilient logistics system that enables access to high-quality, reliable healthcare for a substantial portion of the country’s non-urban population and improves the health system’s ability to respond to disasters and emergencies.

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Under another arrangement, Zipline and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy of Nigeria will extend the envisioned national partnership’s benefits to address sectors beyond healthcare including agriculture, education and disaster relief.

The partnership with the Ministry of Health will also create a sustainable financing framework to attract commitments from global health, economic development, and climate funders to establish autonomous drone infrastructure around the country in strategically determined locations and to enable the operation of these drone networks through hiring, training and empowerment of local talent.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has partnered with Zipline since 2016 and supports vaccine programs in Nigeria; the Elton John AIDS Foundation has collaborated with Zipline in Kenya since 2022 to bring HIV services to young adults outside traditional health settings.

Together, they are seeding the vision for this new partnership in Nigeria by coming in as the first financial backers. It underscores their commitment to innovative, collaborative approaches, using creative financing mechanisms to transform health outcomes for key communities, with a focus on young people.

“It is this sort of partnership – one that brings tens of millions of dollars of foreign investment, turns Nigeria into a global AI and robotics powerhouse, and creates jobs of the future for its youth – that will reshape Nigeria and the world over the coming years,” said Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, CEO/co-founder of Zipline.

Since coming into office, President Bola Tinubu has introduced reforms to improve Nigeria’s security, strengthen public services and bolster the business environment.

In October 2023, he launched the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) to transform the country’s healthcare ecosystem.

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Under the leadership of Abdu Mukhtar, national coordinator of PVAC is making strides to increase local healthcare manufacturing, reduce medical tourism, and create quality jobs in the nation.

“This new Memorandum of Understanding will dramatically advance PVAC’s goals. Scaling Zipline’s infrastructure nationwide can digitise, modernise, equalise and raise the quality of healthcare services available to all Nigerians, while at the same time propelling our country into a new era of economic prosperity, climate resilience and global technological leadership,” said Muhammad Ali Pate, minister of Health and Social Welfare.

With its zero-emissions, AI-powered logistics system and commitment to local job creation, Zipline demonstrably helps surmount obstacles to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Today, in the areas that Zipline serves, a doctor or community healthcare worker can get blood, vaccines, drugs and other medical supplies in as little as 10 minutes.

Zipline’s early operations on health outcomes in Africa can be seen in Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya and some parts of Nigeria.

It has centralised almost all of Rwanda’s blood supply and sends it on demand where needed, avoiding long storage of unused blood components in the field.

A study published in The Lancet shows that Zipline reduced blood expiries by 67 percent in its first three years of operating in Rwanda.

Also, thanks to its ability to centralise and deliver blood on demand, Zipline has reduced in-hospital maternal mortality due to postpartum haemorrhaging by 51 percent in Rwanda.