Durban - Just imagine ordering medication and having it
"ziplined" to your door.
No delivery trucks needed or long haul journeys on
pot-holed roads.
This however, is not a futuristic idea - in fact it's
happening in Rwanda at present, and the idea has just won an award from the
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepeneurship at the World Economic Forum Africa
in Durban.
The man behind the idea, Zipline founder Keller Rinaudo,
whose background is in industrial automation, has partnered with the Rwandan
government to use automated aircraft - what we call drones - to drop off blood
supplies, vaccines and medication to 21 hospitals in the far reaches of the country.
"This method gives people in rural areas the same
access to medication as those in urban areas. There are no long waits. The
hospital places an order for what they want and we have it delivered almost
immediately," said Rinaudo.
And Rwanda is leading the way in this new method of
administering healthcare, being the first country to integrate drones in the
autonomous delivery of medical products.
"We started in Rwanda in October last year and we've
had interest from other East African countries as well. It's a complete
paradigm shift in healthcare," he said.
The specially designed drone carries the product
travelling at around 100km/h and drops it 30 feet above the ground using a
parachute to a medical professional waiting below.
"It revolutionises the way we do things, especially
benefiting people in rural areas," he said.
INDEPENDENT MEDIA
WEF TEAM