Drone trial to deliver lifesaving vaccine to remote islands in Vanuatu [1]
Friday, July 28, 2017 - 12:15
Drones will be trialled for the first time in the Pacific to deliver lifesaving vaccines to inaccessible remote communities in Vanuatu starting in August.
The trial will test the capacity, efficiency and effectiveness of drones to be used on a regular basis.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has partnered with the Vanuatu Government in this initiative.
Vanuatu Ministry of Health Director General, George Taleo said the trial is “to ensure consistent availability of vital supplies at health facilities”.
He added that ongoing challenges such as geography, logistics and high costs made it hard to get supplies to remote areas.
“This trial is an important step in exploring options for dealing with some of these challenges to providing healthcare to these vulnerable communities.”
Six candidates were selected to take part in the trial: Volans-i inc., Martek Marine Ltd, JAR Aerospace Pty Ltd, Colugo Systems, Finish the Call LLC, and Firetail Bormatec JV.
The self-funded candidates from the United States, United Kingdom, Israel and Australia, will travel to Vanuatu to demonstrate the performance of their drones.
The first of three phases of the trial, the technical phase, will run between 21 – 25 August. Drones will fly a proposed distance of 54km, starting by taking off from the old Takara airstrip on North Efate, fly over the offshore islands of Emao, Pele and Nguna, and drop off a package at a cordoned off area with the aim of hitting the ‘bulls eye’ target in Undine Bay before returning to Takara.
Director of Vanuatu’s Civil Aviation Authority, Joseph Niel, said that findings from the first phase “will be vital in informing other parts of the trial”.
The second phase involves a request for proposal through which vaccines will be delivered to health staff on targeted islands in February and March 2018.
And the third phase is integrating drones on a long-term basis to deliver health supplies regularly later in 2018.