Zipline, a startup based in San Francisco (USA), found a solution to facilitate the distribution of vaccines against covid-19 in less developed countries and in more remote areas.
The company is using drones to deliver vaccines in Ghana, having developed an application for that purpose so that doctors can track orders for the vaccine. The process started on February 2nd, the day when 4.500 doses were delivered to rural communities in the Ashanti region.
The objective of the partnership between the government of Ghana and Zipline, announced on February 26 - two days after the vaccines arrived in Accra - is to improve the agility and access of these precious vaccines, through on-demand delivery, even from more difficult. reach areas in Ghana.
It is with vaccination programs against Covid-19 underway that difficulties are beginning to be found in getting vaccines to less developed countries and remote areas. Drones reduce the delivery time to about 30 minutes, which for some hospitals could be 5 hours if the distribution was made by road transport.
To date, Zipline Ghana has distributed more than a million doses of vaccines, many of them in parts of the country that are difficult to reach by land or that struggle with unreliable cold chains. By providing on-demand delivery using drones, the government is not only able to reach more people, but also more efficiently.
Rwanda was the first market that Zipline entered Africa. It now has a total of 6 distribution centers in Rwanda and Ghana, which make it possible to deliver to 2500 health facilities.
