ATLANTA: The UPS Foundation yesterday announced a partnership with Zipline, a California¬-based robotics company, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to explore using drones to transform the way life-saving medicines like blood and vaccines are delivered across the world.
All too often, critical health products spoil or fail to reach the individuals who urgently need them. This public-private partnership combines a century of global logistics expertise, cold chain and healthcare delivery from UPS with Zipline’s national drone delivery network and Gavi’sexperience in developing countries focused on saving lives and protecting health in the most remote places of the world.
The UPS Foundation has awarded an $800,000 grant to support the initial launch of this initiative in Rwanda. “Public-private partnerships are the key to solving many of the world’s challenges, with each partner contributing its unique expertise,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer at UPS. “UPS is always exploring innovative ways to enhance humanitarianlogistics to help save lives, and we’re proud to partner with Gavi and Zipline as we explore ways to extend the Rwandan government’s innovations at a global scale.”
Starting later this year, the Rwandan governmentwill begin using Ziplinedrones, which canmake up to 150 deliveries per day of life-saving blood to 21 transfusing facilities located in the western half of the country. Africa has the highest rate of maternal death due to postpartum hemorrhaging, which makes access to lifesaving blood transfusions critically important across the continent.
The Peninsula
ATLANTA: The UPS Foundation yesterday announced a partnership with Zipline, a California¬-based robotics company, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to explore using drones to transform the way life-saving medicines like blood and vaccines are delivered across the world.
All too often, critical health products spoil or fail to reach the individuals who urgently need them. This public-private partnership combines a century of global logistics expertise, cold chain and healthcare delivery from UPS with Zipline’s national drone delivery network and Gavi’sexperience in developing countries focused on saving lives and protecting health in the most remote places of the world.
The UPS Foundation has awarded an $800,000 grant to support the initial launch of this initiative in Rwanda. “Public-private partnerships are the key to solving many of the world’s challenges, with each partner contributing its unique expertise,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer at UPS. “UPS is always exploring innovative ways to enhance humanitarianlogistics to help save lives, and we’re proud to partner with Gavi and Zipline as we explore ways to extend the Rwandan government’s innovations at a global scale.”
Starting later this year, the Rwandan governmentwill begin using Ziplinedrones, which canmake up to 150 deliveries per day of life-saving blood to 21 transfusing facilities located in the western half of the country. Africa has the highest rate of maternal death due to postpartum hemorrhaging, which makes access to lifesaving blood transfusions critically important across the continent.
The Peninsula
