Low-income countries are persistently suffering from last-mile logistics issues in healthcare supply chains. Therefore, it is high time to explore technological applications to overcome such inadequacies. The faster speed, low maintenance cost, and absence of road dependency in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have popularized them as an alternative to road delivery. Hence, it is suggested as a solution to overcome the persisting distribution inefficiencies in healthcare logistics of low-income countries. According to the case study analysis conducted on the Sri Lankan vaccine cold chain, incorporating UAVs increases truck-space utilization and reduces the time consumed, cost incurred, and carbon dioxide emission in a delivery round. Moreover, the most suitable way to cover the initial setup cost of an unmanned aerial system (UAS) is by receiving aid from international donors. The capital cost also can be covered by government investments or via service outsourcing only if the number of flights per year is increased. Moreover, a homogenous (i.e., only UAV) solution was revealed to be more beneficial than a heterogeneous (i.e., truck and UAV) solution. However, due to the lack of technology literacy and willingness to change in low-income countries, it is recommended to initially execute a heterogeneous solution and expand to a homogeneous plan in the future years. However, it was evident that for a mixed-fleet solution to be advantageous, drone characteristics play a vital role. Hence, a UAV with specifications ideal for the use case must be utilized to garner the maximum benefits. Nevertheless, it was apparent that with the right implementation plan, UAVs possess the potential to overcome the shortcomings in the healthcare logistics of low-income countries.


    Zugriff

    Download


    Exportieren, teilen und zitieren



    Titel :

    Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Adaptation to Facilitate Healthcare Supply Chains in Low-Income Countries


    Beteiligte:


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2022




    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)


    Format :

    Elektronische Ressource


    Sprache :

    Unbekannt




    Unmanned aerial vehicle power supply device and unmanned aerial vehicle

    CHEN FANGPING / QIN GUANGYONG / QIN ZHEN et al. | Europäisches Patentamt | 2023

    Freier Zugriff

    Liquid supply tank, unmanned aerial vehicle frame and unmanned aerial vehicle

    ZHANG CHI / ZHOU LE | Europäisches Patentamt | 2022

    Freier Zugriff

    Aerial photography unmanned aerial vehicle supply station

    LU HONGFEI / YAN FANG / TIAN CHONGFENG et al. | Europäisches Patentamt | 2023

    Freier Zugriff

    Unmanned aerial vehicle supply device

    WANG JUNBO / LE DIWEI / JIN JIN | Europäisches Patentamt | 2023

    Freier Zugriff

    Unmanned aerial vehicle supply system

    TAN GE / WANG QING / LIU YANHUI | Europäisches Patentamt | 2022

    Freier Zugriff