What a handy coincidence! On Friday we talked about two different Africas and how drones could be used to supervise Sudanese people’s security. On the same day Rwanda launched the first commercial drone delivery service in the world, a more efficient way to supply medical centres.
The most interesting part is that these robot airplanes do not land at medical centres; vaccines, medicines or blood instead come down by parachute. Travelling at 100 km/h, they are faster than any other means; a drone can be called up via a text message.
21 hospitals and health centres in Rwanda will be getting blood via this new service, a partnership between the Government of Rwanda and Zipline, a company from California. In a BBC story, Zipline estimates costs per supply to be similar to using a motorbike or an ambulance, the previous and much slower delivery methods.
Read more about it in The New Times.
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ML Rwebandira — formerly known as Miha Logar — is an adventure and cultural tourism expert, writer and multimedia producer who co-founded Gorilla Highlands Experts. His most recent publication is the Pocket Treasure. A national of both Uganda and Slovenia, ML resides with his son Lan in Musanze, Rwanda. Click for his personality-infused quarterly newsletters. [bio updated: 2026-05]