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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.

Jan 31, 2023   |   News

Drones to the Rescue (5th and 6th Graders)

Drones are soaring to new heights—and saving lives—around the world. Last summer, a trip to the beach took a terrifying turn for a teen in Europe. The 14-year old boy had gone swimming off the coast of Valencia, Spain. Suddenly, he was struggling to stay afloat as the waves crashed down on him.

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Jan 31, 2023   |   News

Drones to the Rescue (4th Graders)

Drones are soaring to new heights—and saving lives—around the world. Last summer, a trip to the beach took a terrifying turn for a teen in Europe. The 14-year-old boy had gone swimming off the coast of Valencia, Spain. Suddenly, he was struggling to stay...

Read News

Jan 18, 2023   |   Blog Post

As a Crow flies, the Drone flies: Broadening the Arc of Awareness for Supply Chain Leaders

When we embark on a journey we often bring more with us than just our luggage. We bring our past experiences, knowledge and perceptions, but we also need to bring a willingness to take in new insights and adapt our thinking. As I set...

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Background

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.

People inspecting drone in field.

Drones in DRC. (Photo Credit: Henry Sempangi Sanyulye)

How It Works

  • As of 30 December 2021, a fleet of several drones is flying following pre-approved routes over 37,000 sq km 5 days a week.
  • Each drone can travel up to 130 km carrying 3 kg (6.6 lb) /5212 cm3, averaging more than 100 km/hour.
  • In addition to routine monthly vaccine deliveries, drones are being used for on-demand deliveries and vaccination campaigns as well pick-ups of laboratory samples of many infectious diseases and health facility reports.
  • In addition to the ongoing Phase 2 program in Equateur province, VillageReach has received funding from UNICEF (USAID) for Ebola preparedness in Equateur, focusing on lab sample pick-ups by drones from remote communities. VillageReach also received funding from UNICEF (Gavi) to work with the national EPI in conducting a feasibility study and designing a drone network in two provinces: Kongo Central and Kinshasa.

Resources

Report  |  2023

Lessons learned in the transportation of healthcare products by drones

Fact Sheet  |  2020

Drones for Health: Boosting Access to Lifesaving Products

Fact Sheet  |  2020

Demonstrating the Potential of Drones for Vaccine Transport to Remote Communities

Research  |  2020

Insights Before Flights: How Community Perceptions Can Make or Break Medical Drone Deliveries

Fact Sheet  |  2020

How to select a drone service provider

Presentation  |  2020

Integrating Drones into the Health Supply Chain in DR Congo

Presentation  |  2019

Integrating Drones into Immunization Supply Chains: DRC Case Study

Report  |  2019

Introducing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for Vaccine Transport in the DRC

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

Related Global Impact

See the latest updates from our work to improve access to quality healthcare in the world’s most underserved communities.

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Drones for Health in Mozambique

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UAV Supply Chain Modeling

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UAV Sample Transport

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