IVORY COAST – The National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) of Ivory Coast has granted Zipline’s unmanned aircraft system a flight authorization certificate.
This now allows it to use drones to deliver basic commodities, such as medical supplies, to health facilities in communities authorised by the Ministry of Health.
“It is a difficulty that the ANAC has just succeeded in issuing this certification, which is a first in French-speaking Africa,” said Mr. Diop Boubakar, the Ministry of Transport’s spokesman.
This certification is the result of close collaboration between ANAC, the various entities of the State of Côte d’Ivoire, and the local authorities of Daloa (west of Côte d’Ivoire), who were able to visit the technological complex and assess the benefits to the health sector and the national economy.
With this approval, this company specialising in immediate logistics will be allowed to formalise its cooperation with the Ministry of Health and commence air delivery of important medicinal items to various health centres throughout the country.
“Through this collaboration, we hope to support the government and the Ministry of Health’s vision of creating universal access to health products, thereby eliminating all barriers to access to critical medicines,” stated Mrs. Donpedro Yemisi, Director General of Zipline in Ivory Coast. Mr. Koffi Konan, Acting Director General of ANAC.
To operate in Ivorian airspace, ANAC had to undertake a flight route analysis. The firm and the Ministry of Health, Public Hygiene, and Universal Health Coverage have agreed to create four operations centres that will cover the majority of the country through a memorandum of agreement.
The first centre of the drone delivery service, which should be operational in the coming weeks, is in Daloa.
Biankouma in the Tonkpi region, Katiola (centre-north) in the Hambol region, and Bondoukou in the Gontougo region are the other sites planned (East Ivorian).
The company is already assisting Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, the United States, Japan, and Kenya with the supply of important commodities such as health supplies, e-commerce, and animal health.
It now works on three continents and performs two-minute deliveries on behalf of businesses and governments. So far, the firm has delivered over 4,050,000 packages, sold over 5 million things, and driven over 40 million kilometres autonomously.
According to industry estimations, each flight generates around 30 times less CO2 per kilometre than an average electric vehicle and up to 98% fewer CO2 emissions than a combustion engine vehicle.
This logistics system is utilised all around the world to help the medical, healthcare, and retail industries.
It permits the delivery of blood, vaccines, Covid-19 supplies, prescriptions, internet commerce and retail items, food, and human and animal health products.
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