{"id":112500,"date":"2025-10-08T15:18:39","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T15:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda"},"modified":"2025-10-08T16:08:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T16:08:00","slug":"drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda","title":{"rendered":"Drones Transforming Vaccine Delivery in Rwanda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Scientists in cooling systems have proposed the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), known as drones, in vaccine delivery as a way to support rural health centres that face unstable electricity supply and unreliable refrigeration equipment for vaccine storage.<\/p>\n

An estimated 25\u201350% of vaccines are compromised due to temperature deviations and incomplete vial usage in resource-limited settings.<\/p>\n

Researchers say mRNA-based vaccines require reliable cold storage, which poses a particular challenge for lower-middle-income countries that lack functional cold-chain infrastructure.<\/p>\n

A study on using drones for vaccine delivery to reduce such spoilage is being conducted in seven health centres across Rwanda namely Nyagasambu, Karenge, Munyaga, Muyumbu, Mwulire, Nyakariro and Murambi health centres.<\/p>\n

The research aims to test whether using drones to deliver vaccines directly to health centres\u2014rather than storing them in fridges for long periods\u2014can make vaccination in rural Africa more reliable, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly.<\/p>\n

The progress was unveiled during the cooling conference taking place in Kigali from October 7 to 10, dedicated to sustainable cooling and cold-chain innovation.<\/p>\n

Researchers noted that cooling is often overlooked in climate discussions, yet it is critical to food security, vaccine delivery, and resilience in a warming world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe use of drones will ensure vaccines are transported directly from the national centre for vaccines to health centres for immediate vaccination,\u201d said Jean Pierre Musabyimana, Head of the One Health Department at the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain (ACES).<\/p>\n

\u2018One Health\u2019 refers to an integrated approach that connects human health, animal health, and environmental health.<\/p>\n

At the cooling centre, the One Health approach is applied to cold-chain and cooling technologies.<\/p>\n

This involves designing systems that safely store and transport vaccines, food, and medicines while maintaining the correct temperature, reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting both people and animals from diseases linked to poor cold storage or food contamination.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealth systems depend on reliable cold chains to safeguard vaccines and medicines. In many rural African areas, the cold chain faces major challenges such as unreliable refrigeration equipment, shortage of trained technicians, and unstable electricity supply. These problems often lead to vaccine spoilage and waste,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

The project, titled \u201cUse of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in Critical Vaccine Supply Chain Systems to Minimise Cold Storage Needs in Rural African Settings,\u201d is funded mainly by the JP Moulton Charitable Foundation, with additional support from the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), the University of Rwanda, the University of Birmingham, Zipline Rwanda, the Clean Cooling Network, and other partners.<\/p>\n

Musabyimana said they are collaborating closely with Zipline Rwanda.<\/p>\n

The approach helps keep vaccines at the correct temperature, known as maintaining the vaccine cold chain (VCC), which is crucial to ensure their effectiveness.<\/p>\n

This study explores how drones could transform vaccine delivery through a \u2018just-in-time\u2019 model, meaning vaccines arrive shortly before they are needed rather than being stored in large quantities in rural health centres.<\/p>\n

This approach could reduce the need for costly cold storage and make it easier to deliver new vaccines, including mRNA vaccines, to remote communities.<\/p>\n

The study compares drone-based vaccine delivery with traditional road transport, assessing energy use, environmental impacts, and cost-effectiveness, while also collecting feedback from healthcare professionals on the use of drones and digital tracking tools.<\/p>\n

Health centres are divided into two groups: control sites, which continue using traditional road-based delivery, and active sites, which receive drone-based deliveries scheduled for vaccination days.<\/p>\n

Albertine Uwajeneza, a flight and cold-chain technician at Zipline Rwanda, said the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain is training staff to prepare for drone-based vaccine delivery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vaccines transported by drones are kept in a cold system so that they move from the national centre to health centres without spoilage. We use ice bags to maintain vaccine temperatures,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

Toby Peters, Professor of Cold Economy at the University of Birmingham and Founding Director of ACES, explained that cooling and cold-chain systems are vital for keeping vaccines effective from the moment they are produced until they are administered.<\/p>\n

To address the 25\u201350% of vaccines currently spoiled because of poor temperature control, he said the goal is to improve cold-chain systems so that vaccines remain at the correct temperature throughout transport and storage, and to use new technologies such as drones to deliver vaccines quickly and safely to remote areas.<\/p>\n

He also stressed the importance of training refrigeration engineers to install and maintain these systems properly.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Scientists in cooling systems have proposed the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), known as drones, in vaccine delivery as a way to support rural health centres that face unstable electricity supply and unreliable refrigeration equipment for vaccine storage. An estimated 25\u201350% of vaccines are compromised due to temperature deviations and incomplete […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":112499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[8210,4477,8030,758,1359,7976],"class_list":["post-112500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-cooling","tag-drones","tag-refrigerators","tag-rwanda","tag-vaccine","tag-zipline"],"yoast_head":"\nDrones Transforming Vaccine Delivery in Rwanda - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Scientists in cooling systems have proposed the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), known as drones, in vaccine deli ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Drones Transforming Vaccine Delivery in Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Scientists in cooling systems have proposed the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), known as drones, in vaccine deli ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-08T15:18:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-08T16:08:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/10\/sm_1759927021.554923.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"562\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Drones Transforming Vaccine Delivery in Rwanda\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-08T15:18:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-08T16:08:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda\"},\"wordCount\":748,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/10\/sm_1759927021.554923.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Cooling\",\"Drones\",\"refrigerators\",\"Rwanda\",\"Vaccine\",\"Zipline\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/drones-transforming-vaccine-delivery-in-rwanda\",\"name\":\"Drones Transforming Vaccine Delivery in Rwanda - 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