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A startup is helping deliver medical supplies to hospitals in Rwanda via drones.
When people from the US or countries in Europe hear about drones, they might think about privacy concerns. Now, developing countries have found a purpose and great way to use drones: to save lives. “Uber for blood” as it was dubbed, is a project that uses drones to deliver medical supplies in Africa.
Uber for Blood or How Medical Supplies Could Get Delivered Faster
In Rwanda, for instance, drones are delivering medical supplies which help save hundreds of lives. This project is a partnership between the Rwandan health ministry and a drone startup named Zipline.
The drone-powered medical supply deliveries are starting to become more and more common in this area. As such, they are beginning to have a real impact.
These drones are particularly important in areas which can’t be reached otherwise. More than 5,500 units of blood were sent this way, to remote areas. “Uber for blood” is currently working with a dozen hospital.
The drone network is based in the east part of the country. With the help of the medical supplies delivered by the drones, these hospitals provide treatment for more than 5 million people.
“Uber for blood” helps doctors work with fresh supplies which are delivered on a regular basis. One of the best features, if not the best, of this project is that blood supplies can get where they are needed in less than an hour. Before this drone project was adopted, the blood supplies took almost 4 hours to reach the hospitals.
The drones travel with a speed of 60 miles per hour. In the meantime, the delivery network sends a notification to the hospital staff when the drone is close to the hospital.
Once this gets near enough, it simply drops the medical supplies as a parachute helps them reach the base. After that, the medical staff collects them.
Some are reportedly already considering adopting and implementing this project in other developing countries as well, to help deliver medical supplies faster.
Image Source: StaticFlickr
