Côte d’Ivoire and Zipline to Expand AI-Powered Health Logistics Infrastructure to 10 Distribution Hubs, Reaching 12 Million People
ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire, Sep 21, 2026 — The Government of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire has approved an 8-year public-private partnership with Zipline to expand the country's AI-enabled healthcare logistics network from one distribution centre in Daloa to ten across the country.
Led by Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Health under the leadership of Minister Pierre N’Gou Dimba, and supported in part by the U.S. Department of State’s $150 million pay-for-performance award, the eight-year partnership will scale Zipline’s network from one distribution centre in Daloa to 10 nationwide, creating one of Africa’s largest national deployments of AI and robotics for healthcare. Once fully deployed, the network is projected to serve 2,200+ health facilities and more than 12 million people, create hundreds of skilled jobs, deliver an estimated return on investment of roughly 300% and expose tens of thousands of students, health workers, and community members to advanced AI and robotics technology.
This expansion aligns with Côte d'Ivoire's "Vision 2030" agenda to scale Universal Health Coverage (Couverture Maladie Universelle) by bringing blood products, vaccines, essential medicines and emergency supplies to the communities that need them. It will strengthen access in rural, remote and hard-to-reach areas, including during the rainy season when roads can become difficult to use.
Since launching in Daloa in 2023, in partnership with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, Zipline has delivered more than 3.55 million medical products to more than 220 health facilities across five regions. These deliveries include approximately 2 million vaccine doses and 20,500 units of blood products, contributing to an estimated 2,058 equivalent lives saved.
Pierre N’Gou Dimba, Minister of Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Health Coverage, said:
“Every Ivorian, wherever they live, should be able to receive the essential health products they need quickly and reliably. Since Zipline began operating in Daloa, we have seen shorter delivery times, improved availability of vital products and stronger support for our health facilities. By expanding to 10 distribution centres, Côte d’Ivoire is taking a proven model nationwide and bringing essential healthcare directly to the communities that need it.”
Each Zipline distribution centre combines warehousing, cold storage, inventory management, autonomous drone delivery and digital tracking. Health facilities can order products when they are needed, rather than depending solely on scheduled road deliveries or holding large quantities of stock. The Ministry of Health gains real-time visibility into orders, inventory and deliveries, helping it anticipate demand, reduce stockouts and expiries, protect the cold chain and respond faster in emergencies.
The U.S. government will provide upfront infrastructure funding to Zipline to enable the scale-up, and the government of Côte d’Ivoire has committed to paying for ongoing operations. This approach reflects Côte d’Ivoire’s long-standing commitment to building self-reliant, efficient health systems and ensures the expansion is financially durable, nationally operated and integrated into Côte d’Ivoire’s broader strategy for resilient, technology-driven healthcare.
Caitlin Burton, CEO for Zipline Africa, said:
“Côte d’Ivoire is demonstrating what commercial diplomacy can achieve in practice: U.S. catalytic public funding and AI and robotics innovation combined with strong Ivorian government leadership and domestic investment. Together, we are building national-scale infrastructure that Côte d’Ivoire will lead and finance for the long term, strengthening state capacity, improving population health and creating new opportunities in advanced technology and entrepreneurship. This partnership will improve healthcare, save lives, strengthen outbreak response, support disaster response and contribute to economic growth.”
Xavier Greusard, Vice President, Africa Go-To-Market at Zipline, said:
“Côte d’Ivoire is not simply adding delivery capacity; it is building an autonomous logistics backbone operated by Ivorian talent. The network will support the growth of an Ivorian ecosystem around drones, AI and autonomous logistics, with local teams trained across pharmacy, aviation operations, maintenance, logistics, engineering and data management.”
Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced autonomous delivery service. Today Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 20 seconds, and serves more than 5,000 hospitals and health facilities. The company has completed nearly 3 million commercial deliveries.
Across Africa, Zipline works with governments to build logistics systems that support healthcare delivery, emergency response, and economic development.