IN God’s country, rock star and activist Bono brought a message of hope for Filipinos in the countryside in dire need of health care, especially in times of disaster, as he helped launch a partnership between the Philippine Red Cross and Zipline, a drone delivery service.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the U2 frontman, who described himself as a Red Cross volunteer, as well, said, “Music’s my passion but, actually, Zipline is where all my passions come together, which is the idea that commerce should serve people, not people serve commerce, the idea that the brightest of minds shine brighter when they work for vulnerable lives, and I suppose that all of us [want] that our intellect serves our ideals, this is why I’m excited about Zipline.” Bono is a board member of Zipline.
His band is performing for the first time in Manila on Wednesday at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
Known for his activism and passion for social justice, Bono also gave a “soft message” on the human- rights situation in the Philippines, where more than 20,000 alleged drug users have been unjustly killed in President Duterte’s antidrug operations.
“Human rights are critical. I think my impression of the Philippines is, [Filipinos are] a very caring and sophisticated people. And I understand that when progress is made, sometimes people make what they think are compromises for that progress. And I just would say, you can’t compromise on human rights.”
Bono’s statement was apropos for the day, as December 10 is International Human Rights Day. He is a lifetime member of Amnesty International, an NGO which seeks to protect human rights.
“Human rights are critical. I think my impression of the Philippines is, [Filipinos are] a very caring and sophisticated people. And I understand that when progress is made, sometimes people make what they think are compromises for that progress. And I just would say, you can’t compromise on human rights.”
Bono
Starting with blood from the PRC, and expanding to over 150 critical and lifesaving medical products, Zipline’s revolutionary new service will use a network of autonomous drones to make on-demand emergency deliveries. The service, which will roll out in the summer of 2020, is capable of operating 24/7.
For his part, PRC Chairman Sen. Richard Gordon said, the drones can make emergency blood deliveries “80 kilometers away” from the distribution center. Zipline plans to establish the first of its three planned distribution centers in the Visayas region. Future distribution centers will potentially help expand the service to eastern Visayas and Mindanao.
However, he failed to disclose how much PRC will be paying Zipline for the service. Published reports on the company’s four-year contract with Ghana indicated that Zipline would be receiving $12.5 million for the period covering 600 deliveries a day, based on successful deliveries.
“Geography and Mother Nature can get in the way of our work in reaching the most vulnerable, making it difficult for them to get access to blood and vital medicines,” said Gordon. “We are excited to bring the newest technology in fulfilling our mission. The Philippine Red Cross will soon be able to reach patients at hospitals across the country on-demand and within minutes. This new technology could help us save thousands of lives.”
The PRC serves about 52 percent of the blood transfusion supply in the country.
Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo underscored that “universal health care is a human right.” With technology like what Zipline uses, “your access to health care doesn’t depend on your GPS coordinates.”
He added, “When we started the technology, people said it would never work, and it was completely insane, there was no way any government partner or someone like the Red Cross would take a risk with Zipline to do this. So basically we ignored that and listened to visionaries like Senator Gordon to give us an opportunity to save lives.”
Rinaudo is married to a Filipina, which Gordon intimated was partly the reason the Zipline CEO wanted to launch the partnership in the Philippines. The company first established its service in Rwanda in 2016, delivering blood to one hospital. “Now we’re contracted to deliver blood and other medical products to over 500 medical facilities in the country,” said Rinaudo.
The drones fly autonomously and can carry 1.8 kilos of cargo, flying up to 145 kms an hour, have a roundtrip range of 160 kms in high winds and rain.
Zipline has also partnered with the US Department of Defense, the government of Ghana, and in India. The company’s goal is to serve 700 million people in the next five years.
Image credits: Bernard Testa