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Medical drone deliviries: a blessing or a curse? : a sustainability assessment of using drones for medical deliveries in Sub-Saharan Africa

Uhlin, Kira LU (2020) SGED10 20201
Human Geography
Department of Human Geography
Abstract
The diverse application of unmanned aerial vehicles has rapidly progressed during the last decade and is currently being implemented for medical deliveries in multiple developing countries. Thus far, medical drone delivery systems have successfully been established on a national scale in Ghana and Rwanda by the American company Zipline, currently playing a leading role within the field. The conducted study presents a sustainability assessment of the implementation of drone delivery systems for medical use in Sub-Saharan Africa using a top-bottom approach. By examining the contrasting sides of idealism and skepticism, the greatest advantages and challenges posed towards the success of the technology are analyzed in combination with an... (More)
The diverse application of unmanned aerial vehicles has rapidly progressed during the last decade and is currently being implemented for medical deliveries in multiple developing countries. Thus far, medical drone delivery systems have successfully been established on a national scale in Ghana and Rwanda by the American company Zipline, currently playing a leading role within the field. The conducted study presents a sustainability assessment of the implementation of drone delivery systems for medical use in Sub-Saharan Africa using a top-bottom approach. By examining the contrasting sides of idealism and skepticism, the greatest advantages and challenges posed towards the success of the technology are analyzed in combination with an accessibility analysis, using mixed methods. The study combines previously published works, news articles and seven semi-structured interviews with a quantitative analysis using Arc GIS to perform the sustainability assessment in relation to innovation, diffusion and optimal transportation theory. The presented issue is at last reviewed in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals and the recent outbreak of COVID-19. Ultimately, the conducted study finds how various challenges regarding the environmental, economic and social aspects of operating drones for medical use is of great concern and the need for further studies is vital. The innovation is not optimal for all environments and needs to be incorporated in combination with local capabilities and incentives. However, as long as the technology is being implemented in an ideal setting, the advantages of using drones for medical deliveries offer great relief within the medical sector and may provide with revolutionary game changers in the development field. (Less)
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author
Uhlin, Kira LU
supervisor
organization
course
SGED10 20201
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
drone delivery systems, drone technology, medical transportation, Sub-Saharan African drone projects.
language
English
id
9017392
date added to LUP
2020-06-25 12:05:32
date last changed
2020-06-25 12:05:32
@misc{9017392,
  abstract     = {{The diverse application of unmanned aerial vehicles has rapidly progressed during the last decade and is currently being implemented for medical deliveries in multiple developing countries. Thus far, medical drone delivery systems have successfully been established on a national scale in Ghana and Rwanda by the American company Zipline, currently playing a leading role within the field. The conducted study presents a sustainability assessment of the implementation of drone delivery systems for medical use in Sub-Saharan Africa using a top-bottom approach. By examining the contrasting sides of idealism and skepticism, the greatest advantages and challenges posed towards the success of the technology are analyzed in combination with an accessibility analysis, using mixed methods. The study combines previously published works, news articles and seven semi-structured interviews with a quantitative analysis using Arc GIS to perform the sustainability assessment in relation to innovation, diffusion and optimal transportation theory. The presented issue is at last reviewed in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals and the recent outbreak of COVID-19. Ultimately, the conducted study finds how various challenges regarding the environmental, economic and social aspects of operating drones for medical use is of great concern and the need for further studies is vital. The innovation is not optimal for all environments and needs to be incorporated in combination with local capabilities and incentives. However, as long as the technology is being implemented in an ideal setting, the advantages of using drones for medical deliveries offer great relief within the medical sector and may provide with revolutionary game changers in the development field.}},
  author       = {{Uhlin, Kira}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Medical drone deliviries: a blessing or a curse? : a sustainability assessment of using drones for medical deliveries in Sub-Saharan Africa}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}