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Dissertation
The use of drones in health supply chains in developing countries
Authors: --- --- ---
Year: 2021 Publisher: Leuven KU Leuven. Faculteit Economie en Bedrijfswetenschappen

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Abstract

In 2015, the United Nations set 17 Sustainability Goals, with Goal 3 being “Good Health & Well-Being”. This goal is focused on the low- and middle-income countries and the reduction of inequalities in healthcare accessibility. Even though some steps were made, healthcare in developing countries is still strongly lacking behind, with the pandemic even enlarging the gap. This paper will therefore investigate the following research questions: (i) “How are healthcare logistic chains organized in low- and middle-income countries?”, (ii) “What are the capabilities of the UAV industry nowadays and how do they provide solutions in the healthcare sector?” and (iii) “Which solutions do OR/OM papers provide to resolve healthcare logistic challenges using UAVs?”. The research questions are addressed by a focused literature review on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in health supply chains in order to improve them. A first part will present the health supply chains in low- and middle income countries and the challenges it faces. It will continue with an introduction on drones and their usage in healthcare. The second part of the literature study is limited to operations research and operations management papers. These papers will be classified and analysed based on the following criteria: decision level, primary use, performance measure, methodology, countries covered and healthcare challenges covered. Concluding remarks will include opportunities for future research based of the classification of the operations research and operations management literature. Although research on this topic is scarce, there is an increased interest by researchers and organisations to learn more about the possibilities this new technology has to offer.

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