Somaliland Considers The Use of Drones to Transport Medicine

Hargaysa, 01 November, 2018. Somaliland and other African countries may be considering the use of drones as a means of transport. Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles, also called UAV’s.

During a conference on effective transport systems in African countries held in Mwanza, Tanzania, the director general of Somaliland’s ministry of Transport Mr Omar Sayid Abdilahi said the country lags behind in effective transport systems, including roads linking major cities within the country, and the use of drone transportation in moving drugs and other essential goods from one village to the other is an option worth considering.

In Rwanda, drones are used to deliver blood to almost half of the country’s blood banks. In Malawi, they deliver HIV test kits to and from remote areas. They are also used to track illegal maritime activities, track poachers, check oil spills and even enhance safaris.

The conference was attended by firms that deal in this technology from Asia and Europe. The World Bank representatives were also present.