Tanzania set to launch the world’s largest drone delivery network

Tanzania is set to launch the world’s largest drone delivery network early 2018, with drones parachuting blood and medicines out of the skies to save the lives of many in the region.

Zipline, a Californian drone-delivery startup that has been delivering blood to Rwandan clinics since October, recently announced that it’s expanding its operations into neighbouring Tanzania. Zipline will make 2,000 deliveries a day to more than 1,000 health facilities across the east African country.

The company’s operations in Tanzania will involve more than just blood. The four distribution centers it’s building in the country will house over 100 new drones, and will be able to distribute a whole range of medical products, including blood, vaccines, HIV medications, antimalarials, and emergency medical supplies like sutures and IV tubes.

The drones fly at 100 km (62 miles) per hour, much faster than travelling by road. Small packages are dropped from the sky using a biodegradable parachute.

The government hopes to save the lives of many dying from Malaria, as well as thousands of women who die from profuse bleeding after giving birth. Tanzania has one of the world’s worst maternal mortality rates, with 556 deaths per 100,000 deliveries, government data shows.

The drones will cut the drug delivery bill for Tanzania’s capital, Dodoma, one of two regions where the project will first roll out, by $58,000 a year, according to Britain’s Department for International Development, one of the project’s backers.

The success of the program in Rwanda convinced Tanzania to test Zipline. If the expanded offering works there, it’s likely to be deployed to Rwanda in the near future as well. Many countries, including other East African nations, have expressed interest in the service.

Sources: Reuteurs Africa & Quartz