By Peter Ochieng
The fight against malaria in the Lake Region Economic Block (LREB) on Thursday received a huge boost, after Zipline company, the ministry of health, and the county government of Kisumu announced the launch of drone delivery services for blood and vaccines.
LREB is made up of 14 counties namely; Siaya, Kisumu, Homabay, Migori, Kisii, Nyamira, Kericho, Bomet, Nandi, Vihiga, Kakamega, Bungoma, Trans Nzoia and Busia.
Transporting blood and blood products to where they are needed presents significant challenges in the vast region, due to complex supply chains, short shelf life, and fluctuating demand.
Courtesy of the partnership, Zipline will adopt a centralized stock approach and implement on-demand delivery, ensuring that any health facility within its service radius receives the necessary products within 45 minutes.
Collaborating with the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Services and the Kisumu Regional Blood Transfusion Center, Zipline will commence deliveries in Kisumu and Homa Bay counties before gradually extending its reach to other counties.
Speaking during the launch at Zipline’s distribution hub in Chemelil, Kisumu County, Cabinet Secretary (CS) for health and sanitation Susan Nakhumicha said the move signifies a great leap of transformation.
“The launch of drone deliveries for blood and vaccines is a transformative moment for healthcare in Kenya,” she said.
“This technology has the potential to revolutionize access to critical medical supplies, particularly in remote areas, and significantly reduce malaria burden.”
Alongside the blood distribution service, Zipline will undertake the distribution of vaccines, sanctioned by the National Vaccines and Immunization Program (NVIP), to health facilities across the LREB, starting with Kisumu.
“We are here to celebrate one of the many milestones coming from our partnership with the county government of Kisumu to reach the unreachable and enable healthcare access. Today, on World Malaria Day, we have launched the delivery of life-saving blood and vaccines that are critical to curbing the effects of severe malaria,” said Miki Sofer, Zipline Vice President of Health Partnerships.
The launch coincided with World Malaria Day celebrations, coming on the backdrop of LREB counties such as Kisumu, Siaya, Homabay and Busia grappling with high malaria prevalence.
Kisumu governor Anyang’ Nyong’o in a speech read on his behalf by his Deputy Dr Mathews Owili, said partnerships such as the one with Zipline is the way to go, towards achieving the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) dream.
“As we strive towards Universal Health Coverage, the government must enter strategic partnerships to ensure that health building blocks and innovative solutions and logistics management of medical supplies will play a vital role. I commend our partnership with Zipline, which has already made over 6,300 deliveries of life-saving commodities since its inception in February 2023.”
Zipline has been operating in Rwanda and Ghana since 2016 and 2019 respectively. It launched its commercial deliveries in Kenya in February 2023, serving the Kisumu region.
Since then, it has successfully made over 6,300 commercial deliveries out of its state-of-the-art distribution center in Chemelil.
