Earlier today, on Wednesday, 24th April, the unveiling of the world’s largest drone delivery network, ferrying 150 different vaccines and medicines, along with blood, to nearly 2,000 clinics in remote parts of Ghana, has been announced.
As per reports, this network is a representation of a big expansion for the Silicon Valley start-up Zipline, which began delivering blood in Rwanda 3 years ago in 2016 by implementing pre-programmed, piloted aircraft.
As per reports along with a new agreement in Rwanda which was signed back in December, and this latest announcement, it elevates the company beyond simple blood distribution to more complicated plasma and vaccine deliveries.
Speaking about the announcement, in a statement, Keller Rinaudo, Chief Executive of Zipline said, “What this is going to show is that you can reach every GPS co-ordinate, you can serve everybody.”
Rinaudo further added, “Every human in that region or country [can be] within a 15-25 minute delivery of any essential medical product — it’s a different way of thinking about universal coverage.”
Vaccines for polio, diphtheria, yellow fever, polio, and tetanus which are provided by the World Health Organisation’s Expanded Project on Immunisation will be delivered by Zipline.
Reports also state that the company’s system for future mass immunization programmes in Ghana will also be used by the WHO.
In an official statement, Zipline also revealed that later on in this year, it has plans to start operations in south-east Asia, the US, and in North Carolina.
