Where We Work | Program
Drones for Health in the DRC
Routine drone delivery operations reach remote communities in the Équateur province, ensuring fast turnaround transport of lifesaving vaccines, medicines, and other health products.
Country
Democratic Republic of CongoSolution
Drones for HealthTopic
Drones for HealthStatus
ActiveBackground
In late 2018 VillageReach began working with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to investigate the use of drones for vaccine delivery in Equateur province. Equateur is a large province in DRC, with many remote and hard-to-reach health facilities that have no mobile or internet access. Between unpaved roads, dense forests, the Congo River and many other bodies of water, getting life-saving health products to many communities is a constant challenge. After successfully conducting test flights in 2019, the Equateur province health department launched routine drone deliveries with Swoop Aero and VillageReach in January 2021.
How it
Works
Links
Evaluation Reports
Program Impact
Phase 2 Equateur Drone Program Results*

Partners

Government
- The DRC Ministry of Health and the National Drones for Health Commission,
- The Governor of Equateur and the Provincial Drones Working Group
- DRC Civil Aviation Authority
- Ministry of Interior and Security

Technical Partners
- Swoop Aero

Donors
- Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
- Crown Family Philanthropies
- Cartier Philanthropy
- Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
- UNICEF
Previous Partners
Government
- None
Technical Partners
- None
Donors
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation