Watch the President of Rwanda Launch a Blood Delivery Drone

Drones are making their way to Africa, and are being well-received as important tools for delivering critical supplies.

Rwanda launched its first drone for medical supplies delivery last week, marking a step forward for a country that struggles to get enough resources from its major hospitals to its remote clinics. The country is working with Silicon Valley drone company Zipline to get drones into the hands of hospital workers.

President Kagame launching a Zipline medical delivery drone now in Muhanga Presidency | RwandaOctober 14, 2016

"The inability to deliver life saving medicines to the people who need them the most causes millions of preventable deaths each year around the world," said Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo in a statement. "We've built an instant delivery system for the world, allowing medicine to be delivered on-demand and at low-cost, anywhere."

The drones will be used to deliver blood and other necessary medical supplies to 21 hospitals and health clinics across the country, which is roughly the size of Maryland. The drones will be able to carry up to 1.5 kilograms of blood and can fly 150 kilometers, the company said.

"This use of unmanned commercial drones to transport essential medical products is a milestone for Rwanda in many respects," Rwanda's president Paul Kagame tweeted last week.

The drones started flying just as Rwanda entered its rainy season, which typically complicates ground deliveries even more. The first delivery of blood made it to a rural clinic last week, according to the Rwanda Biomedical Center.

Drones have been used more in the past few years to deliver aid to remote and struggling regions. One civilian group is trying to fundraise to create a network of drones to drop food and supplies in war-torn Syria, drones have been used to bring aid to Haiti and the Dominican Republic after disasters and drones are even used by United Nations peacekeepers to spot civilians who are in danger in war zones.

We often think of drones in relation to weapons, but here's proof that the role of technology can be easily shaped for both force and support.

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