Yesterday, being the 3rd day of June, 2022, Zipline commenced operation in Nigeria, in the country’s state of Kaduna. Thus making Nigeria the third African country to deploy the drone medical deliveries initiative.
The American company is ranked as the world’s largest, autonomous, on-demand delivery system and global leader in instant logistics technology. It is a company that designs, manufactures and operates drone deliveries with distribution centers in the United States, Japan and Rwanda. Nigeria, Cote D’ivoire and Kenya have only recently hopped on the train and a lot more countries are expected to join as time goes on.
The company has been in operation since 2014 and has successfully made about 280,000 deliveries in over 20,000,000 miles of flight. Delivering over 200 different medical products ranging from vaccines to blood, drugs, among many others. Zipline aims at creating an agile, responsive and accessible health system.
Zipline in Nigeria:
The launch which displayed a test flight in Kaduna was as a result of Zipline and Kaduna State’s collaboration with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
According to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the final approval process shall consist of a series of test flights to various health facilities before proper commercial deliveries commence in the state before the end of the month.
Furthermore, agreements between the company and other states of the country have been signed so that these states may access the delivery system before the year runs out.
At the Inaugural flight in Kaduna yesterday – reported by the Guardian News – the State Governor said, “Zipline’s system is a powerful next step in Kaduna State’s ongoing efforts to create a smarter, stronger health system that better serves everyone in our state.”
He also indicated that “Zipline will operate three distribution centers across the state, covering an area of 46, 000 square kilometers and delivering to approximately 500 health facilities, serving millions of people.”
The State’s Health Commissioner, Amina Mohammed Baloni, further explained that the day’s flight was “an important step toward ensuring people across Kaduna have access to the care they need, precisely when and where they need it to drive better health outcomes and foster healthier communities.”
