Drones to deliver blood and vaccines within Lake region

Drones will be used to deliver blood and vaccines to health facilities in Lake Region Economic Bloc, following a partnership between Zipline Kenya, Kisumu county government and Ministry of Health.  

Health CS Susan Nakhumicha said the collaboration will enhance the government's efforts to improve healthcare access and achieve Universal Health Coverage.

"The launch of drone deliveries for blood and vaccines is a transformative moment for healthcare in Kenya," Nakhumicha said.

“Through enhancing access to life-saving interventions, such as blood transfusions and vaccines, this initiative will contribute significantly to the realisation of UHC goals.” 

Transporting blood and blood products presents significant challenges due to complex supply chains, short shelf life, and fluctuating demand.

“To address these challenges, Zipline will adopt a centralised stock approach and implement on-demand delivery, ensuring that any health facility within its service radius receives the necessary products within 45 minutes,” Nakhumicha said.

Zipline will work with the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Services and Kisumu Regional Blood Transfusion Center to supply Kisumu and Homa Bay and then expand to other counties.

 Miki Sofer, Zipline's Vice President of Health Partnerships, praised the initiative to deliver medicines to unreachable areas and enable healthcare access.

“We have launched the delivery of life-saving blood and vaccines that are critical to curbing the effects of severe malaria.

"Our provision of timely vaccine deliveries is poised to play a pivotal role in curbing malaria mortality rates in the region,” Sofer said.