2022-2025

DRONES FOR HEALTH

2022-2025

VillageReach

VillageReach works to transform healthcare delivery by ensuring lifesaving vaccines, medicines and other essential health supplies reach the people who need them most. We’re funding VillageReach’s Drones for Health programme, which aims to demonstrate the potential for improving access to medical supplies in remote areas using drones. The programme is on track to help four million people by 2024.

www.villagereach.org

CHALLENGE

The health of rural communities is at risk due to limited access to vaccines, medicines and laboratory testing. Women and children are particularly at risk from issues such as pregnancy complications and diarrhoea. Infectious diseases including COVID-19 and Tuberculosis are also likely to spread much faster.

ACTION

VillageReach is partnering with the Ministries of Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi and Mozambique in the use of medical drones to overcome road infrastructure and logistical barriers between health facilities and remote communities.

Using drones enables vaccines and medicines to be delivered faster and more reliably, whilst also expediting the collection of laboratory samples and the return of test results. The drones are significantly faster than trucks or motorbikes on unpaved roads, or boats along rivers. This quicker, direct delivery enables health workers to spend less time transporting materials and more time caring for people.

In areas that have mobile network coverage, drones can also be used for on-demand and emergency deliveries of medical supplies.

VillageReach plans to scale the programme to connect 400 health facilities using medical drones, helping an estimated four million people directly and indirectly by 2024.

IMPACT

To date, the Drones for Health programme has cut patient vaccine and medicine delivery times for 250,000 health workers and increased the availability of medical supplies in 2,000 health facilities.

MILLION PEOPLE

have improved access to healthcare across Sub-Saharan Africa

250,000

HEALTH WORKERS

are able to deliver vaccines and medicines faster and more reliably to people

2,000

HEALTH FACILITIES

have improved access to medical supplies