Zipline Drones to Deliver Medicine in Kisumu

Delivery of medical supplies via drones will go live in the next fortnight as Kisumu County announced plans to embrace instant logistics services.

Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o said that the initiative being implemented by Zipline will use its autonomous aircraft technology to reach the furthest ends of the region.

“Among others, we will leverage this new technology to improve our productivity in agriculture by enabling genetic improvement of local breeds at the animal reproduction centre in Chemelil,” he said.

He further said, instead of having to transport your cow all the way to Chemelil, you can rear the bulls, produce semen then transport them by drones to Rodi Kopany in Homa Bay or Anding’o Opanga in Nyakach within minutes.

Prof Nyong’o pointed out that the programme would help improve food security and enhance the county’s production of milk and meat.

The drone centre will be officially opened in Chemelil and will also be used to transport fertilisers.
In Africa, Zipline is successfully using drones in Rwanda to deliver blood and essential medicines to rural hospitals.

The programme was launched during the first phase of lockdown that started on March 21, 2020. This was after the government observed that some of the densely populated neighbourhoods and high-risk zones were not adhering to Covid-19 preventive measures as it was difficult to reach them by prevention awareness messages.

Meanwhile, the county chief pointed out that his administration is building on the foundation of the recently concluded AfriCities conference that attracted more than 11,000 delegates to boost its tourism potential.

Article by Leonard Selelo