The Senior Vice President of Zipline in Africa, Mr Daniel Marfor has said that the United States-based company is global leader in instant delivery, which has made impact in healthcare and agriculture.
Mr Marfor said that Zipline is transforming systems to make them more effective, equitable, and sustainable, adding that it is operating in Rwanda and Ghana, outside the United States.
‘’We have built the largest automated, on-demand delivery service in the world, with more than 300,000 commercial deliveries, 21 million autonomous miles flown and millions of products delivered,’’ he disclosed.
In his welcome address, the Vice President said that the Pambegua centre which was commissioned in Kaduna state, ‘’has the capacity to house hundreds of healthcare products, including medicines, routine vaccines, and COVID-19 vaccines.’’
‘’This center, in the coming weeks, will see close to 500 healthcare facilities in Kaduna state get access to medical products precisely when and where they need them, in as little as 30 minutes or less, depending on the specific location,’’ he said.
According to Marfor, ‘’with wastage and expiry of medication causing tailbacks, especially in communities where storage facilities are not fitted to accommodate medications that need cold chain preservation, a cold storage supply chain like the one provided by Zipline is the solution.’’
The Vice President promised that ‘’when all the facilities become operational, the entire Kaduna state community will have an agile, resilient, and responsive supply chain and automated delivery services capable of meeting any demand.’’
‘’At Zipline, we envision a world where physical products move as quickly as information, and everyone can get what they need when they need it. An equal society created by a tested system able to supply health facilities with critical medical supplies,’’ he said.
Marfor pointed out that ‘’in an industry like healthcare, this instant access is a complete game-changer for patient care and, often, health outcomes.’’
The Vice President argued that in this age and time, ‘’a critical sector like healthcare especially in Africa, no longer employs traditional administrative ways of dispensing healthcare.’’
‘’With the population increasing by the day, many health outposts are bound to be overstretched with varied health cases, some of which may not be fully diagnosed for a lack of essential medical supplies,’’ he added.
According to him, Zipline is ‘’inclined to address these challenges by linking the country’s healthcare to an on-demand supply of medications to demonstrate our commitment to ensuring the sustenance of life.’’
Marfor pointed out that ‘’the glaring limitations of storage capacity, highlighted by an unreliable supply of electricity is a growing everyday conversation among policymakers.‘’
Marfor also appreciated development partners, donors, state and federal agencies, the private sector for ensuring Zipline’s entry in Nigeria, just as he reiterated the need for collective responsibility to combat the myriad of issues in healthcare delivery.
The Vice President envisaged that the commissioning of Pambegua distribution centre will be ‘’the beginning of other impactful collaborations in the future and be the blue print that will direct our shared growth in Kaduna State, Nigeria, Africa and the world.’’
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