The United States is investing $150 million in Zipline, the world’s largest drone delivery service, to expand its healthcare operations in five African nations: Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Côte d’Ivoire.

This marks one of the first major global health aid commitments following a period of frozen foreign assistance and a strategic shift toward an “America First” policy under the Trump administration.

U.S. officials have framed the Zipline partnership as an exemplar of the new strategic direction for American global health aid.

Since its 2016 launch in Rwanda, Zipline has pioneered the drone-based delivery of critical medical supplies like blood, vaccines, and medicines to remote communities.

This new grant will significantly scale its operations, boosting daily delivery capacity and expanding its reach to millions more people across Africa.

In an interview with Devex, the CEO of Zipline Africa, Caitlin Burton, stated that the company’s on-demand delivery model is designed to solve the persistent vulnerabilities plaguing African health supply chains.

“The health systems don’t serve most people well. That’s not fair, and it’s not solvable with the technology you have. You can’t just pave every road, and electrify every site, and get everybody a working refrigerator that never breaks, and make sure nobody ever steals fuel or ever diverts drugs. You can’t do all those things,” Burton said.

This grant departs from traditional aid models by operating on a pay-for-performance basis.

Participating governments have signed contracts committing to ongoing logistics payments, which could total $400 million.

According to State Department officials, this structure is designed to foster long-term sustainability by leveraging private-sector innovation.

US Undersecretary of State for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom, Jeremy Lewin, said,“This partnership is an example of the innovative, results-driven approach at the core of the America First foreign assistance agenda.”