• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    Sponsored Content
    Johnson & Johnson
    • News
    • Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson

    The sky’s the limit: Drones delivering HIV supplies in remote Uganda

    How are drones being used to transform HIV care for one Ugandan district? From Kalangala, Devex takes a look.

    By Devex Partnerships // 26 July 2021
    How are drones being used to transform HIV care for one Ugandan district? Click the link above to read the full visual story.

    While drones may have become novelty toys for many, in one Ugandan district — together with the upskilling of local community members to operate the drones — they’re providing a lifeline in delivering HIV medicines to other nearby islands.

    Kalangala district is an archipelago of 84 islands — some heavily populated, others uninhabited, and all thickly forested — on Lake Victoria, a great expanse of fresh water shared between Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Among its inhabitants of more than 70,000, HIV cases remain stubbornly high despite concerted efforts over the years to bring Uganda’s overall prevalence rate down.

    “HIV prevalence in most of Uganda has really declined over the last 20 years,” said Rosalind Parkes-Ratanshi, director at the Ugandan Academy for Health Innovation and Impact. “Places like central Kampala are around 7%, yet the islands have remained at a very high prevalence rate of around 27%.”

    Without finding ways to overcome the geographic and logistical challenges of the area, eradicating HIV remains an out-of-reach target for Uganda.

    Kalangala district’s medical drones project could be a solution.

    The idea behind the Johnson & Johnson funded initiative is to transport medicines — arriving from the mainland by boat — from Bufumira island to more remote locations in the district by drone. The project aims to assess the effectiveness and impact of drone technology — teamed with community-driven care — in delivering HIV medications.

    Access this visual story and join Devex on the ground in Uganda as we follow the first flight and explore how drones could offer a solution to improved HIV treatment and care.

    • Global Health
    • Innovation & ICT
    • Uganda
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Devex Partnerships

      Devex Partnerships

      Thanks for reading and for your interest in Devex. In collaboration with our partners, Devex’s partnerships editorial team produces content to promote a partner’s work or perspectives on a particular issue. It gives actors across the global development sector — including nongovernmental organizations, private sector stakeholders, aid agencies and government institutions — the opportunity to go beyond traditional advertising and tell their stories in an impactful way. If you’d like to learn more about how you can shine a spotlight on a particular issue with Devex, please email partnerships@devex.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

    Search for articles

    Most Read

    • 1
      How to use law to strengthen public health advocacy
    • 2
      Lasting nutrition and food security needs new funding — and new systems
    • 3
      House cuts US global education funding 20%, spares multilateral partners
    • 4
      The power of diagnostics to improve mental health
    • 5
      Opinion: The pursuit of remission — from possibility to priority
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement