Zipline, the global leader in autonomous logistics, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation have entered into a partnership to deliver HIV care to Nigeria’s youth in unconventional locations.
Modelled on their existing partnership in Kenya that has already helped more than 55,000 young people get screened for HIV and receive preventative care, this innovative programme will leverage Zipline’s drone technology, which has been operational in Nigeria since 2022.
Learnings from this model will inform efforts to combat HIV/AIDS across Nigeria, a country that has one of the largest HIV burdens in the world.
Nigeria’s federal government recently announced its intent to scale up Zipline infrastructure nationwide and the Elton John AIDS Foundation is one of the first financial backers of this bold vision, which will help the country dramatically improve healthcare access and equity.
More than 1.9 million people in Nigeria are living with HIV, with young people aged 15 to 24 making up 41% of new infections. Yet only about 1 in 10 are on antiretroviral therapy, a medicine that prevents people with HIV from dying of AIDS and ensures the virus cannot be passed on to others.
This mismatch in need and care provision is in part due to Nigeria’s well-documented supply chain challenges. Shortages of items essential for the prevention, testing and treatment of HIV/AIDS, such as condoms, test kits and medications, prevent reliable delivery of high-quality services.
With no inventory on hand, clinicians, pharmacists and NGOs are often unable to inform patients about their options or provide necessary care. Better inventory management practices, AI-driven logistics and real-time data tracking – all capabilities inherent in Zipline’s delivery system – can transform the availability and quality of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services in the country.
“Research on the impact of Zipline’s operations in Rwanda and Ghana has shown that on-demand delivery all but guarantees treatment is available where patients seek it, and this has had a transformative effect on health outcomes for maternal mortality and vaccination coverage,” Zipline’s senior vice president of partnerships, Caitlin Burton, said. “We’re partnering with the Elton John AIDS Foundation to understand how a more agile supply chain can help health systems reach more young people, who visit health facilities at lower rates, but have a huge need for healthcare, especially for sexual and reproductive health and HIV prevention.”
“Building on Zipline and the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s highly successful partnership in Kenya, we are incredibly excited to be able to expand this work in Nigeria,” said senior portfolio lead at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Dr Lindsay Hayden. “Our continued collaboration will deliver essential physical and mental health services – including contraceptives, PrEP, HIV tests, and medication – to high-risk youth, including the LGBTQ+ adolescents and young women, at locations that are convenient to them. By leveraging Zipline’s cutting-edge delivery infrastructure, the Foundation is providing a modern, convenient, and comprehensive ‘one-stop shop’ for youth care in Africa.”
Beyond supply chain disruptions, stigma and discrimination present additional barriers to care in Nigeria. As such, the programme prioritises deliveries to community-based organisations (CBOs) where young people gather.
In Nigeria, CBOs meet a broad array of healthcare needs. Bringing services and supplies that support sexual and reproductive health directly into these trusted settings will enable safe, convenient and consistent access to care.
While addressing the physical health needs of youth is necessary, it is not sufficient in ensuring their holistic wellbeing. Indeed, mental health care and HIV are syndemic: poor mental health quadruples the risk of acquiring HIV and negatively affects treatment outcomes.
LGBTQ+ youth are particularly vulnerable, facing higher rates of anxiety, depression and suicide attempts. This initiative has embedded mental health screening alongside sexual and reproductive health and HIV care, in an environment where mental health services remain severely limited.
The programme envisioned by Zipline and the Elton John AIDS Foundation brings together a consortium of partners to meet the needs of young people in Nigeria:
- Heartland Alliance (HALG) and Excellence Community Education Welfare Scheme (ECEWS) to engage peer networks that can grow demand for HIV services,
- StrongMinds to ensure that those at risk for HIV are receiving mental health screenings,
- DrugStoc to make it easy for young adults to get medication refills discreetly with encrypted digital vouchers, and
- Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to advocate for meaningful policy changes that will help secure long-term success of this program.
By increasing convenience, awareness, privacy, breadth of services, and reliability of care, this new partnership aims to transform HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment among an especially vulnerable population. Like in Kenya, it’s our hope that this partnership will serve as a blueprint for better addressing the needs of adolescents and young people across Nigeria.
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