Kisumu County announced plans to embrace instant logistics services, including the delivery of medical supplies via drones, which will go live in the next two weeks.
Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o stated that the initiative, which is being implemented by Zipline, will use autonomous aircraft technology to reach the most remote parts of the region.
The agreement will see Zipline invest Sh 150 million to establish an operation and distribution hub in Kisumu to facilitate the exercise.
“Among others, we will leverage this new technology to improve our productivity in agriculture by enabling genetic improvement of local breeds at the animal reproduction centre in Chemelil,” he said.
“Instead of having to transport your cow all the way to Chemelil, we can rear the bulls, produce semen then transport them by drones to Rodi Kopany in Homa Bay or Anding’o Opanga in Nyakach within minutes,” he said on Wednesday during the gubernatorial debate.
Prof Nyong’o stated that the program would help improve food security and increase milk and meat production in the country.
He added that the drone center, which will be officially opened in Chemelil, will also be used to transport fertilizer.
Zipline is successfully using drones in Rwanda to deliver blood and essential medicines to rural hospitals.
The program was launched during the first phase of lockdown, which began on March 21, 2020, after the government observed that some densely populated neighborhoods and high-risk zones were not adhering to Covid-19 preventive measures because prevention awareness messages were difficult to reach them.
Meanwhile, the county chief stated that his administration is building on the recently concluded AfriCities conference, which drew over 11,000 delegates, to boost the county’s tourism potential.
He stated that Kisumu wishes to promote conference tourism, claiming that the city has a comparative advantage over others in Kenya and the region.
Noting that Kisumu is one of the counties with a high cancer disease burden, Prof Nyong’o stated that he has spearheaded the establishment of a comprehensive cancer and blood disorder center at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital.
The center, which is expected to open in the next two to three years, will provide radiotherapy and chemotherapy as well as treatment for blood disorders such as sickle cell anaemia to patients in the greater lake region and Kenya.
When completed, the center will provide a daily sickle cell clinic and therapeutic apheresis, in which defective red blood cells are removed and replaced with normal ones using a special machine.
It will be equipped and staffed to provide bone marrow transplant services, which will be beneficial for the majority of haemato-oncological conditions.
Governor Nyong’o has also committed to establishing community environment workers to help increase the county’s forest cover, which is currently less than 3%.
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