Ugandan officials are reported to be planning on launching a drone medical supply service in 2020.
The Ugandan government is currently in talks with a firm to seal a deal to deliver blood packages, drugs and medical equipment to public health facilities.
An executive of the drone service firm, Flexdrone was reported by Reuters on Friday to have confirmed the reports of ongoing discussions.
John Goslino who is business manager at Flexdrone, told Reuters his firm owned by a Ugandan and a German hopes to start a delivery service in March if talks were successful.
The firm has already secured approval from the Information and Communications Technology Ministry and now awaiting an endorsement from the Health Ministry.
“We are trying to provide the products that are needed by the patient and the health worker who is working in the village when that person needs it,” Goslino told Reuters.
Goslino added that his company plans to deploy drones capable of carrying 5 kg each. It could use bigger drones as demand grow.
Should Uganda seal a deal the east African nation would join other African countries, such as Ghana and Rwanda in deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to deliver public health logistics.
Zipline, a California-based robotics company launched drone delivery service in Ghana this year. Rwanda has however been operating such a service since 2016.
Source: Africafeeds.com
