Partnering for drone distributions
Upon joint consultation, Daniel Blay and his team from Zipline, specializing in on-demand drone delivery, became part of the Kenyan pilot project to distribute vaccines. Their long-range, high-speed drones weigh under 25kg and carry up to 3kg. Dropping packages from a height of 30 meters, they fly at altitudes between 100 and 200 meters, remaining virtually unnoticed until they are just two minutes away. „Zipline serves as the technology provider, but our success depends on strong partners on the ground who mobilize communities and supply high-quality products,“ says Zipline’s Vice President Blay.
To cover the crucial lastmile to remote vaccination stations, VacciBox, a portable solar-powered fridge, was used during the campaign. „Not a single vaccine was wasted that day,“ Norah Magero, founder of Drop Access, proudly recalls, emphasizing that the challenge is not a lack of vaccines, but rather spoiled vaccines due to inadequate storage. The start-up joined the MMH Accelerator Program earlier this year and was asked to support the rabies project. This experience demonstrated VacciBox’s potential, now capable of storing up to 3,000 vaccines and running for 36 hours on battery.
On-site insights, people who recognize the program’s benefits, and professionals constructing dispensers for the delivered products (as done by CHW) are crucial for the project’s success. An impressive tally of approximately 2,000 dogs were vaccinated at eight different sites throughout Bungoma and Kakamega County in only one day. By the end of the year, the program aims to distribute an additional 10,000 doses across Kenya’s Lake Region Economic Bloc.