On 14 October 2016 President Paul Kagame launched what was described as the world’s first national drone delivery service, in Muhanga District, Rwanda. The service was run with the company Zipline and supported by partners including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
It began by delivering blood on demand to 21 transfusion facilities in the western half of the country. Health workers order by text message; the drones, able to fly up to 150 km round trip even in wind and rain, drop the package close to the clinic.