Delivering medical supplies to remote regions of sub-Saharan African nations like Madagascar, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is no easy task.

The villages are far from larger towns. There are no airports. Even helicopter access is impossible. This means critical supplies—vaccines, antibiotics, malaria drugs and blood products—are often out of reach when they are needed most.

Brie O’Sullivan, a Western University PhD candidate, is conducting research to change that, through drone technology.  

“The impact of drones in these regions speaks for itself, especially in an emergency where someone desperately needs things that can't wait,” Brie says. “We’re seeing evidence already of higher child immunization rates, lower maternal mortality and less product wastage.”

As an example, she points to a community in Madagascar that was facing an urgent crisis: multiple children were critically ill from severe malnutrition and infections their immune systems couldn’t fight. Delivering the necessary antibiotics, supplements and food supplies by truck would have taken two days—time the children simply didn’t have.

“It would have been really difficult to find a driver willing to make that kind of journey. The drone was packed up within a couple of hours and flew 35 minutes to drop off these critical supplies. The children who were suffering were able to be treated quickly and they survived.”

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Through her research and experiences, Brie has also witnessed health inequity in Indigenous communities of northern Canada, where there can be only one doctor for 200,000 people in many instances.  

Her goal is to gain a thorough understanding of the barriers and processes involved in implementing and scaling drone technology to its fullest potential, with the ultimate aim of advancing health equity worldwide.

As she looks towards the future, she knows health equity will remain at the core of her work.  

“I want to help create a better world for everyone. Right now, many people don't even have basic human rights. If I can make a meaningful impact on someone's ability to access health care, I'll be really happy with that.”