Cross River deploys drone for remote vaccine delivery

Drone delivery operations have boosted access to vaccines and essential medical supplies across hard-to-reach communities in Cross River State, the state government has said.

The Director-General of the Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Vivien Otu, stated that the aerial logistics system operated by Zipline had supported ongoing efforts to track down and vaccinate children who missed routine immunisation, particularly in remote and riverine areas.

Otu spoke in Calabar during an event marking the milestone of a zero-dose intensification initiative implemented by Zipline in partnership with the Cross River State Government and the Ministry of Health.

She explained that the exercise deployed over 160 operational teams comprising vaccinators, recorders, and community mobilisers across nine local government areas to reach children omitted from routine immunisation schedules.

“The project has been instrumental in transporting vaccines to communities where conventional distribution was once nearly impossible,” Otu said.

She noted that beneficiaries also received nutrition supplements and deworming treatments, adding that underserved children frequently confront multiple health complications beyond missing routine immunisation.

• C’River seeks cheaper drone delivery for vaccines in remote areas
• NaijAidUK to deepen emergency response training, marks 10 years
• Abia specialist hospital records first brain surgery

Otu stated that the logistics partnership had successfully eliminated distribution bottlenecks by air-dropping vaccines and vital medical supplies directly to designated drop zones in terrain-challenged areas.

Also speaking, Zipline’s Commercial Director, Hannatu Adegboyega, said the organisation had collaborated with the Cross River State Government since 2023 to deliver vaccines and medical consumables to underserved areas.

Adegboyega disclosed that the firm had delivered nearly four million vaccine doses through its operational hubs in the state and was working to sustain and scale up the partnership.

“We have delivered over four million vaccines; it has been a success story, and we are looking at how to sustain this momentum because it is an intervention we want to continue,” Adegboyega said.

She added that Zipline planned to bolster the state’s healthcare system through ongoing technical support in logistics, cold-chain storage, and health data collection.

Adegboyega noted that similar aerial delivery initiatives were being executed across other Nigerian states, including Bayelsa and Kaduna.