UPS doesn’t want to simply deliver packages to your doorstep any longer. Just as companies like Amazon and some global postal services are bringing the idea of drone delivery to life, so is UPS — but not exactly in the same way.
The company has partnered with Zipline, a California-based robotics company, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in an attempt to using drones to deliver life-saving medicines like blood and vaccines across the world.
The company plans to start in Rwanda and later this year, the country’s government will implement the drones, which will be capable of making 150 blood deliveries per day to 21 transfusion facilities in the western half of the country.
“Our partnership with UPS and Zipline is an exciting step into a new territory for the delivery of medical supplies,” said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “It is a totally different way of delivering vaccines to remote communities and we are extremely interested to learn if UAVs can provide a safe, effective way to make vaccines available for some of the hardest-to-reach children.”
Even though the drone network is focusing on blood supplies at this time, eventually the plan is to expand to vaccines, HIV/AIDS treatments, in addition to malaria and tuberculosis medications.
According to UPS, Rwanda’s drone delivery operation is expected to save thousands of lives over the next three years and could serve as a model for other countries and the company has awarded an $800,000 grant to further the initiative.
“Public-private partnerships are the key to solving many of the world’s challenges, with each partner contributing its unique expertise,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer at UPS. “UPS is always exploring innovative ways to enhance humanitarian logistics to help save lives, and we’re proud to partner with Gavi and Zipline as we explore ways to extend the Rwandan government’s innovations at a global scale.”
All too often, critical health products spoil or fail to reach the individuals who urgently need them. This public-private partnership combines a century of global logistics expertise, cold chain and healthcare delivery from UPS with Zipline’s national drone delivery network and Gavi’s experience in developing countries focused on saving lives and protecting health in the most remote places of the world.
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