Saving Lives from the Sky

TARGET GROUP: PUBLIC

OBJECTIVES

·        To save lives and improve access to healthcare for those in hard-to-reach areas.

·        To help catalyze improvements in infrastructure, such as expanding cellular service coverage, which can be a prerequisite for drone service.

·        To help mitigate challenges stemming from a lack of infrastructure in areas, such as inaccessible roads during the rainy season.

SUMMARY

Drone technology stands at the forefront of modern transportation and has the potential to enhance the efficiency of many processes, including life-saving medical deliveries. As an early adopter of many pilots and drone programs throughout the continent, Africa has been a global leader in the use of drones for humanitarian and medical delivery purposes. This has allowed countries across Africa to reap the economic and life-saving benefits of drone use, while also providing valuable insight into the future of drone technologies. For example, in Ghana this past year, drones delivered Covid-19 vaccines for the first time. However, drone use in Africa comes with a series of challenges, including several that are unique to working in Africa. Once these challenges are overcome, a path to a viable drone program can be achieved, leading to direct health benefits for those served by the drones, and wider economic benefits for the communities in which they operate. Despite the health benefits, time savings, and other additional benefits that drones can bring, drone programs in Africa have had challenges staying in operation long term. Small drone programs make an important impact but must rely on outside funding and can be expensive to initially set up. However, the research performed for this paper shows that when programs are at a large scale, cost of operation is modest compared to the huge positive impact they have saving lives.

REFERENCE:

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/public-sector/us-drones-in%20africa.pdf