A Child Was Immunized By the World’s First Drone-Delivered Vaccine The drone had to fly more than 24 Nigeria

Island Healthcare

The remote islands of the Vanuatu archipelago, in the middle of
the Pacific ocean, are sparsely populated. Small populations are
scattered across a number of islands, separated from each other by
the ocean itself and mountainous, volcanic, and otherwise
inaccessible terrain.

Needless to say, providing adequate healthcare is tricky
for the South Pacific ocean nation — in fact, one out
of five^[1] children in Vanuatu
miss out on essential childhood vaccines, according to UNICEF. But
drone technology, it says, could give local healthcare
professionals a big leg up.

Vaccines By Air

UNICEF announced^[2] Tuesday that it and
several partners had successfully delivered a vaccine
to Cook’s Bay on Erromango Island, where it had been used
to vaccinate a one-month-old child against hepatitis and
tuberculosis. The drone had to fly more than 24 miles (40
kilometers) to get to its destination, flying over rugged
mountainous terrain in the center of the island.

“Today’s small flight by drone is a big leap for global health,”
said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, as quoted
by UNICEF’s
press release^[3]. “Today’s
first-of-a-kind vaccine delivery has enormous potential not only
for Vanuatu, but also for the thousands of children who are missing
out on vaccines across the world.”

The drone delivered enough vaccines for 13 children and five
pregnant women. The delivery was the result of a joint effort
between UNICEF, private partners, and the local Vanuatu government.
UNICEF touted the flight as the “first-ever commercial
contract to deliver vaccines by drone.”

Difficult Terrain

It’s not only the mountainous terrain that makes delivering
vaccines difficult on Vanuatu’s islands and other remote places —
you also have to keep the vaccines at a constant low
temperature. The solution: attaching a styrofoam box filled with
ice packs to the drone.

Officials back on the ground included an electronic data logger
inside the box to detect if temperatures ever rise above an
acceptable range.

The remote South Pacific nation is looking to integrate drones
as a way to transport vaccines, and other health supplies in the
long term.