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Muhanga District to be first deployment of drones in Rwanda
Zipline Inc. CEO KEller Rinaudo (far left) shaking hands with Jean-Philibert Nsengimana (Minister of Youth and ICT) after signing the…
The Government of Rwanda signed a Memorandum of Understanding framework with Zipline Inc. to implement a first autonomous system for the delivery of blood products across the country.
The system uses unmanned aircraft to make deliveries to rural health facilities for less than it would cost to make the same delivery using a motorbike. The system is designed and operated by Zipline, an American robotics company. The first deployment will be based in Muhanga District and will provide Rwandan citizens with reliable, on-demand access to blood and other essential medical products.
An expansion plan of this project looks at building a bigger eco-system of cargo drones in Rwanda, connecting secondary cities, focusing on capacity building and research development and others. The Government of Rwanda is already in partnership with Redline Foundation, a Swiss-based charitable organization, to start this investment.
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The Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana said: “We believe that using cutting edge technology to allow supply chains to operate independently of existing infrastructure represents a huge opportunity for our country. This is one of the many initiatives that our government is putting in place in line with the Smart Rwanda Master Plan 2020 which was recently approved by the Government of Rwanda”.
Throughout Africa, difficult terrain often prevents medical products from reaching the last mile and the patients whose lives depend on it. The Zipline system bypasses the challenges of existing transportation, improves the efficiency of health supply chains, and provides reliable access to medical products for everyone.
“We’ve been impressed with Rwanda’s vision for the future”, said Keller Rinaudo, CEO of Zipline. “In automating their supply chain using unmanned aircraft, Rwanda is investing in innovative technology that will improve public health services and save lives. We’re very proud to be able to work with the Government of Rwanda achieve this audacious goal.”