Hope on the horizon as drones set to deliver medical supplies in Western region
Zipline Kenya, a company that operates a drone manufacturing and delivery system, will start shipping drugs and non-pharmaceutical products in the Western region next month.
The company is finishing its warehouse and cold chain storage facility in Chemelil that will keep products within the recommended standards for delivery.
Zipline Country General Manager Winfred Njeri said they have trained their staff and sensitised the community on the operations of the drone logistics company.
She said the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), which approves routes in the airspace, is considering their request.
"The only thing we are waiting for is the right to fly. We have made progress with the KCAA. Hopefully, by October, we should start drone operations," Ms Njeri said.
Some of the products likely to be delivered to health facilities in the region are drugs, vaccines, infusions, whole blood, platelets and frozen plasma.
The system works to deliver drugs and other medical supplies within a radius of 8Okm. The technology can release 20 drones at a time.
45 minutes waiting time
Orders can be fulfilled and the shipping of a consignment launched within 45 minutes.
"We want to bridge the gap of accessibility of medical supply within health facilities in a timely manner. This will create logistics solutions that serve all humanity equally by an automated delivery system," she said.
In February this year, Zipline signed an MoU with Kisumu County to pave the way for establishing and operating a Zipline distribution hub.
The hub will be the base of operations for the Zipline Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and Zipline services capable of serving health projects and facilities across the 14 Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) counties.
Among the counties that will start getting drone logistics services by October are Kisumu, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kericho, Nyamira and Kisii.
Ms Njeri said the company is planning to set up 10 hubs in Kenya in the next five years.
"We are targeting to establish hubs across the regional heads. Our expansion vision is to set up a hub in the North Rift region, covering counties such as Turkana and West Pokot by next year,” she said.
Zipline has established business partnerships in Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and now Kenya for technology-driven services in the health sector. BY DAILY NATION
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