Drone logistics start-up expands medical delivery in Madagascar

It has been a while since we wrote about AerialMetric; the only start-up to develop delivery drones made in Africa.
The Madagascan drone company has been quietly making positive strides in healthcare delivery in the island country and recently, they successfully completed the first drone delivery flight of vaccines in Beraketa.
Beraketa is a town and commune of about 14,000 inhabitants in the district of Bekily in Androy Region and they had a landmark day last month when they witnessed a medical supplies-laden drone take off to deliver vaccine doses at the Beraketa Health Center.
“AerialMetric’s first drone delivery flight of vaccines to the Beraketa CSB, Sakaraha District, was a success,” the start-up said in a social media post.
“October 2nd, 2024, marks a milestone for remote healthcare access in Atsimo Andrefana. The local authorities witnessed the drone take off and the successful delivery of 1,030 vaccine doses at the Beraketa Health Center.
“This breakthrough highlights our commitment to making essential healthcare accessible, even in the most isolated areas.
“We extend our gratitude to the Ministry of Public Health, Population Services International (PSI) Madagascar and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance for their vital support.”
In this operation, AerialMetric will be the drone partner to a collaboration that also includes the Ministry of Public Health, Population Services International Madagascar as well as GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. The two non-government organisations will be responsible for availing the medical supplies.
“The first drone flight brought 1030 doses of vaccine to CSB Bereketa, which is 30km away from Sakaraha district, in the South West region,” said PSI Madagascar.
“The team of the Ministry of Health, local authorities, technical and financial partners, and PSI Madagascar participated in this event, which is important in delivering vaccinations to the most remote and vulnerable parts of the South West to achieve the goal of getting all children vaccinated.”
The drones would also deliver VAR and polio vaccines, with the support of the Ministry of Health teams, to other areas apart from Sakaraha and Vangaindrano.
Founded in 2009, AerialMetric is a Madagascan company that delivers aeronautical solutions to developing countries.
Its UAV manufacturing business started in 2018, as a response to the problem of limited access to healthcare in in the country.
The company started working with the government, the Ministry of Public Health and the donor community (USAID, The Global Fund, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) to create a medical cargo drone capable of transporting health commodities (medicines, contraceptives, vaccines, biological samples) to and from the most inaccessible areas of Madagascar.
AerialMetric’s drones – the flagship of which is the Savior 330 – are electric VTOL that can fly BVLOS for up to 300km and offer two-way deliveries for up to 10kg in cargo.

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