Bad weather and poor roads often make it difficult to deliver life-saving drugs to remote regions of Kenya. However, a company is using drones to quickly transport medical supplies to those in need, bypassing the usual delivery challenges.
Samuel Sineka, a pharmacist and Partnership Director at Zipline, explains, “Rains actually make access to these facilities via traditional modes of delivery very daunting. We are able to overcome these barriers by leveraging aerial logistics to serve people, even when they cannot access essential commodities via traditional ground transport.”
In Kisumu County, a Zipline drone is en route to a remote village during a local football match. The drone is carrying HIV drugs and testing kits to an outreach event aimed at combating the spread of the virus.
HIV prevalence in Kenya among adults aged 15 to 49 has dropped from 9.1% in 2000 to 4.3% in 2021. However, Kisumu remains a hotspot for youth infections. “HIV patients need to take their medicines every day at a particular time, failure to do so can lead to viral resistance,” Sineka adds.
Zipline’s drones are making a significant impact by delivering medications to patients within 15 to 45 minutes. During the match, one drone flies overhead, dropping a package filled with condoms and HIV testing kits—vital supplies that help healthcare workers like Rachel Oyugi.
Oyugi, a healthcare worker at the event, shares, “Most of them come in the name of watching football. They enter into the tent, have their services, and then go home, treated well.” She explains that at local facilities, they might receive only 10 to 15 youths annually for HIV testing. But during the event, they can assist up to 50 youths in a single day.
By the end of the match, numerous young people have been tested, educated on sexual health, and provided with contraceptives. Meanwhile, the Zipline drone is back at base, ready for its next mission to deliver essential supplies to more remote villages across Kenya.
