By Milliam Murigi
Kenya’s health sector has been urged to embrace drone technology to improve access to life-saving medical supplies, especially in remote and hard-to-reach areas.
Speaking during VillageReach’s 25 years anniversary celebration, Dr. Ahmed Ogwell, CEO of VillageReach, said that drones have the potential to transform healthcare delivery if governments commit to long-term investment in the technology.
“Drones are a tool, just like vehicles. In the medical field, we use them to reach communities that are otherwise impossible to access, especially during emergencies,” Dr. Ogwell explained.
VillageReach began experimenting with drones in Malawi as early as 2011 before expanding to other countries, including Rwanda. In Rwanda, drones have become a vital part of the health system, delivering blood, vaccines, and life-saving medicines to rural hospitals within minutes.
“Rwanda committed to using drones because they have parts of the country that are very difficult to reach. The government took the decision to fund the service for as long as it takes until the unit cost drops. That commitment is saving lives,” Dr. Ogwell noted.
Malawi, on the other hand, could not sustain the operations due to high costs, forcing VillageReach to scale back its drone program there.
While the technology holds promise, the major barrier remains cost.According to Dr Ogwell, each drone trip referred to as a payload comes at a price that many governments find hard to sustain.
“The cost per trip is relatively expensive when used solely for health services,” he said. “That is why we are now talking to partners in other sectors such as climate, mining, and agriculture so that a single drone route can serve multiple purposes. When different sectors share the costs, the service becomes affordable.”
The Kenyan government has also acknowledged the role drones can play in strengthening health systems.
“As a government, we encourage the use of drones in a big way, and we are supporting several service providers to come in,” said Loice Rono, Health Advisor in the President’s Economic Transformation Secretariat at the Office of the President.
She highlighted examples of companies already working with Kenya, including Zipline and Siemens, whose drones have demonstrated impact in maternal health and blood delivery.
“Blood is life, and it is always urgently required. In far-flung regions like Lodwar and other rural counties without blood banks, drones have proven effective in delivering blood as well as essential medicines. They have also shown efficiency in getting medical supplies from KEMSA to health facilities at the last mile,” Rono said.
According to her, the government views drones as part of the larger push to ensure every Kenyan household has access to timely healthcare.
“We encourage more service providers to come in so that the cost of delivery goes down. This is technology we are embracing as a government to make sure healthcare truly reaches the last person,” she added.
According to Dr.Ogwell, Kenya’s geography presents unique challenges for healthcare delivery. From flood-prone lowlands to mountainous regions where roads are washed away or impassable, health workers often struggle to deliver vaccines, blood, and other medical essentials on time.
Dr. Ogwell believes drones could provide the missing link. “Sensitive products like vaccines are more effectively transported using drones. Road transport is often unpredictable. The more we use drones, the cheaper the service becomes,” he emphasized.
He added that increased investment and usage would help reduce costs over time: “The health sector needs to use drones not just occasionally but at scale. It is in the volume of use that we will find affordability.”
Despite the challenges, Dr. Ogwell is optimistic. VillageReach is already in talks with drone operators and governments, including Kenya, to make the service viable.
“Are they good? Extremely. Are they needed? Absolutely. Are they expensive? Yes. But we are working to make them less expensive, and in the next six to eight months, we hope to see major changes in how we use drones,” he said.
