Agency Reporter 

Cross River State has partnered with Zipline to distribute medical supplies with drone delivery service across the state.

It will be the first state to use drones to deliver medical products within the south-south region of Nigeria.

Zipline is the world’s first and only national-scale drone delivery service. They are to ensure on-demand delivery of medical supplies, including hundreds of vaccines, medications and blood products, to health facilities across the state.

Considering the over 430 hard to reach communities in Cross River state, the innovation is expected to strengthen the health sector and ensure universal access to medical supplies.

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Zipline plans to initially build two distribution centers to facilitate deliveries to more than 1,000 health facilities that serve millions of people across the state.

These distribution centers will support the delivery of medical supplies 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Construction of the first distribution center is expected to begin immediately and completed within six months from the start date.

The partnership was made in collaboration with Cross River state Governor Benedict Ayade; Commissioner for Health Dr. Betta Edu, other stakeholders, and Zipline to significantly improve the health delivery system of the state and increase access to health care for communities across the state, even in remote areas.

“Healthcare is one of our top priorities, and we are committed to creating a functional system in which no one is left behind

“Zipline is a key, innovative part of our investment in our health systems. Their delivery service will help us to remove access barriers to health care and create a more equitable and efficient health system across the state.”

“The focus of this partnership is to ensure that all barriers hindering the successful delivery of medical commodities to our people is removed. This is one of the many forward-thinking interventions we are implementing to consolidate the gains we have made within the health care system”. Ayade said.

Also speaking, Edu said, “This agreement is an important milestone for us at Cross River State as we strengthen our health system with emphasis on Primary Health care to enable us achieve universal Health coverage.

“We anticipate that this revolutionary technology will improve access and even distribution of medical commodities to remote and hard-to-reach areas, which has only become more urgent with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are on a mission to transform health care systems around the world, and we’re thrilled to partner with Cross River State as they invest in innovation to improve the health of their people,”

“Our partnership is not just about delivering medical supplies; we will also build capacity of Locals to make drones. Zipline will also build a Battery factory in Cross River state. We are working together to reshaped how health systems work, how to best deliver care to patients, and increase access for all people by designing a better system.” said Daniel Marfo, Senior Vice President of Africa at Zipline.