The Kaduna State Government says it is partnering with Zipline, a distribution service company to help transform access and availability of routine and emergency medicine for Nigerians in the state.
The Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El- Rufai disclosed this in a statement issued to newsmen and signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Mr Muyiwa Adekeye.
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 centers 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 centers, 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 kilometers an hour, and have a round trip range of 160 kilometers—even in high-speed winds and rain.
He said the service would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from three distribution centers with each equipped with 30 drones and deliver to more than 1,000 health facilities serving millions of people across Kaduna State.
Rufai said that all the three distribution centers together would be capable of microtargeting the delivery of more than six tons of medical products each week over more than 60,000 square kilometers.
He said: “Kaduna State is focused on delivering one of the best public healthcare systems in Nigeria.
“The state has upgraded 255 primary health centres, one in each political ward, to improve access to health care 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 health board is recruiting and training 3000 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 the governor, the agreement with Zipline builds on and adds value to the initiatives to strengthen the capacity of the Kaduna State health 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 (CEO) of Zipline, Keller Rinaudo said where Nigerians live should not determine whether or not they have access to the 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.”
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.
Zipline drones will make on-demand and emergency deliveries of blood products, vaccines, and life-saving medications.
In addition to expanding access to routine and emergency medical deliveries, the new drone delivery service will also expand access to the COVID-19 vaccine, particularly for rural and hard to reach populations.
Zipline has built an end-to-end, cold chain distribution capability that allows it to safely deliver frozen and ultra-low COVID-19 vaccines and medical products.
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