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Blood from the Sky: Zipline’s Ambitious Medical Drone Delivery in Africa
The plastic sachets of blood are among the first commercial products ever delivered by drone, part of a partnership between the Rwandan government and the Silicon Valley–based robotics firm Zipline, which began introducing the blood drops at -Kabgayi in late 2016. The service, which is now delivering to seven of 21 planned facilities, is still in its infancy. Yet it has already had an impact. In the past, hospital staff would make three drives per week to procure blood products in the capital, Kigali, 60 kilometers away, a three- to four-hour round trip.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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PRESS RELEASE: ‘Project Last Mile’ Expands to Liberia and Swaziland, Strengthening Health Systems Across Africa
"With our strong commitment to reducing the HIV/AIDS burden in Swaziland, we are very pleased to be able to partner with Project Last Mile and tap into Coca-Cola's vast experience to find ways to implement innovative marketing approaches to increase demand for HIV prevention services and treatment," said Ms. Rejoice Nkambule, Deputy Director, Public Health, Ministry of Health of Swaziland.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health
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Bank cards show resilience in Kenya despite mobile money dominance
Mobile money has for the last years stifled the growth of plastic money, with many pointing to the death of the cards but new data from Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) showed Wednesday that the latter is in Kenya to stay, the onslaught notwithstanding.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Ending “Preventable” Maternal Deaths With Limited Resources: Learning From Successful Country Programs
According to the World Health Organization, most maternal deaths are preventable. The concept of a preventable maternal death, however, is nuanced: A maternal death is more easily prevented in settings with access to health care providers, infrastructure and supplies compared to settings with limited resources.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health
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UN Study: Digitization of Kenyan Farmer Payments Helps Tackle Poverty
One Acre Fund, supported by Citi, enabled farmers to easily make loan repayments via mobile money instead of cash, reducing the uncertainty, inefficiency, insecurity and high costs previously caused by cash transactions.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How Digitizing Agricultural Input Payments in Rural Kenya is Tackling Poverty: The Case of One Acre Fund
Since 2014, OAF has enabled farmers in Kenya to make loan repayments digitally using the mobile money service M-Pesa instead of in cash, increasing economic opportunity and financial inclusion in some of the world’s poorest farming communities.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Digital Toolkit to Give Tanzania Smallholder Farmers Access to Finance, Farm Supplies and Training
The digital toolkit will allow farmers to gradually pre-pay for the inputs they need via mobile money, at discounted prices. It will also provide them with a customized inputs package based on their crop and production goals, and deliver mobile-phone based farming advice to ensure the best use of those inputs.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Smallholder farmers in Kenya in the race against climate change
For years, the farmers’ efforts in small-scale agriculture produced little meaningful return. But this did not stop the community from having a collective vision for their prosperity: They wanted to improve their living standards, educate their children, engage in farming as a business and add value to cash crops to increase their income. What they lacked was the knowledge to make this happen.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa