The government of Tanzania has announced that it would be partnering with Zipline to launch the world’s largest national drone delivery service. The government said it wants to make as many as 2,000 daily deliveries from four distribution centres to over one thousand health facilities, serving 10 million people across the country.
The parties started trialling the concept in January 2017 and are now ready to commence operations in the first quarter of 2018.
“Every life is precious. Tanzania is committed to making sure that each and every one of our citizens has access to the care they need when they need it,” said Dr. Mpoki Ulisubisya, Permanent Secretary of the Tanzania Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly, and Children. “Working with Zipline will help make that vision a reality.”
“We strive to ensure that all health facilities have the medicines and supplies they need, wherever they are,” said Laurean Bwanakunu, Director General of Tanzania’s Medical Stores Department. “But that mission can be a challenge during emergencies, times of unexpected demand, bad weather, or for small but critical orders. Using drones for just-in-time deliveries will allow us to provide health facilities with complete access to vital medical products no matter the circumstance.”
The four distribution centres are located in Dodoma, the country’s capital, two in the northwestern corner of Tanzania near Mwanza and Lake Victoria, and one in the Southern Highlands near Mbeya. Dodoma will start off in the first quarter of 2018 and will be closely followed by the other three, working in close collaboration with civil and military aviation authorities.
Each of the four distribution centres will be equipped with up to 30 drones and is capable of making up to 500 on-demand delivery flights a day. The drones can carry 1.5 kilos of cargo, cruising at 110 kilometers an hour, and have a round trip range of 160 kilometers. Health workers place delivery orders by text message and receive their package within 30 minutes on average.
Rwanda launched the world’s first national drone delivery operation in October of 2016. Since the October launch, Zipline has flown more than 100,000 km, over 1,400 flights to deliver 2,600 units of blood.
