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UNICEF delivers vaccines via drone for 1st time
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The vaccine delivery covered almost 40 kilometers of mountainous terrain on one of roughly 80 islands in the country, reaching a small, scattered community where 13 children including a 1-month-old baby and five pregnant women were vaccinated. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he UN Children's Fund said Tuesday it has succeeded in delivering vaccines via drone for the first time, accomplishing the task in the South Pacific Ocean nation of Vanuatu.
The vaccine delivery covered almost 40 kilometers of mountainous terrain on one of roughly 80 islands in the country, reaching a small, scattered community where 13 children including a 1-month-old baby and five pregnant women were vaccinated.
"Today's small flight by drone is a big leap for global health," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore in a statement. "With the world still struggling to immunize the hardest to reach children, drone technologies can be a game changer for bridging that last mile to reach every child."
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Vaccines are difficult to transport as they should be carried at specific temperatures. In Vanuatu, there are many areas that are only accessible by foot or in small boats, leaving almost 20 percent of the country's children without essential vaccinations, according to UNICEF.
