Rwanda has launched Anti – Epidemic Robots as one of the most recent strategies put in place to boost the fight against COVID-19 at treatment centres. The robots have the capacity to screen between  50 to 150 people per minute, deliver food and medication to patient rooms, capture data, and notify officers on duty about detected abnormalities for timely response and case management.  The new development is expected to increase timeliness and efficiency in the fight against COVID-19 and reduce exposure of health workers to possible Covid-19 infection.

  

Launched at Kanyinya COVID-19 treatment centre on 19 May, 2020, the high-tech robots are a result of a partnership between The Ministry of Health, Ministry of ICT and Innovation and The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Rwanda.

“We are pleased to partner with different institutions to address the COVID-19 pandemic, in this case using technology to enhance health. These robots will help improve service delivery while protecting our valuable health workers against COVID-19 exposure,” says the Minister of Health, Dr. Ngamije M. Daniel.

The Smart Anti- Epidemic Robots named Akazuba, Ikizere, Mwiza, Ngabo and Urumuri, will be mainly used in screening temperature, monitoring patient status and keeping medical records of COVID19 patients. Designed with various advanced features, the robots will support doctors and nurses at the designated treatment centres.

“The infectious nature of COVID-19 calls for technological innovations to tackle the pandemic. This is why Rwanda introduced robots, drones among high-tech initiatives to enhance efficiency in this fight,” says Minister of ICT and Innovation, Paula Ingabire.

Stephen Rodriques UNDP_Rwanda Resident Representative said during the handover ceremony, “Today marks another watershed moment in terms of innovation in Rwanda and I am very proud that our team is part of this historical moment.”

 The high-tech robots were made by Zora Bots, a Belgian company specialised in robotics solutions.