Aion Health

We are applying for The Elevate Prize to be part of the leadership development and engineering ecosystem to create a socially innovative company that will impact our community and the world at large. We would use the Elevate Prize funding to develop a prototype, a fully electric autonomous drone, and ensure that we can effectively implement the project in Sierra Leone. 

The Aion team will be designing the concept of our drone based on the features. The features include but not limited to 2 hour flight time, a minimum of 2.5 kg payload, a fully electric, autonomous system, and vertical takeoff and landing. We will then purchase the equipment from our partners and manufacturers to begin building the drone. Our team will work together from different backgrounds to assemble the drone. We will have multiple tests to ensure safety and full integration of different parts. We will start the implementation of the delivery system in regions without access to supplies and continue testing.

My name is Abubakarr Sidique Konneh born in a small town called Bo, Southern Sierra Leone. Growing up in Bo, I encountered a lot of different experiences including historically devastating ones like a brutal civil war, Ebola outbreak, and massive mudslides. Through all these experiences, I have always been a passionate changemaker that has always strived to create an impact in my immediate community no matter how small it was. For instance, I served as a student representative for the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, Bo, and a student Leader and Finance Officer at the Sierra Leone Youth Leadership Federation. 

I had the opportunity to travel around the world through the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study, study at the United World College. These opportunities opened my mind to different perspectives and possibilities hence igniting the realization that Sierra Leone deserved better. Our vision is to minimize maternal and infant mortality in Sierra Leone, Africa, and reduce health disparities globally.  Aion Technologies Limited is geared towards incorporating healthcare and technology using drones to provide quality healthcare in inaccessible areas. 

In the population pyramid of Sierra Leone, there are 6 million people with 60% being youth-based. This increase in population momentum is coupled with high maternal and infant mortality ratios. This is primarily because of what we call the 3D’s: Delay in decision making, Delay in arriving at health facilities, and Delay in providing quality health services; with a physician ratio of 0.02 per 1,000 people and 0.4 beds per 1,000 population. During the Ebola epidemic, there was an 18% decrease in the number of pregnant women attending antenatal care, an 11% decrease in the number of women having a birth at a healthcare facility, and a 24% increase in the number of stillbirths in the country.

Aion Technologies Limited is geared towards incorporating healthcare and technology using drones to provide sustainable quality healthcare in inaccessible areas. This includes using autonomous drones that carry maternal packages, emergency blood supplies, medical equipment about 2.5kg from a central hub to inaccessible areas. Roads in Sierra Leone are dilapidated, and pregnant women take hours to reach the nearest hospital. Drone delivery systems can eliminate the need to travel for healthcare and ensure faster delivery.

Aion health is the first company in Sierra Leone intending to use drones in healthcare. The drones are fully autonomous with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) technology, flying beyond line of sight, and always ready to fly. Unlike the currently used means of transporting health facilities which are mostly cars, our work can reach even the most remote areas with a lot less energy used and a low carbon footprint. The drones will operate on a GPS and/or a telemetry system. In addition, we intend to use a parachute delivery system to be used when necessary and a temperature system to keep certain substances like blood at their desired temperature to avoid disrupting their chemical components.

Our organization is striving towards helping pregnant women and children in inaccessible areas to have access to essential and quality medical supplies that can save their lives. The emergency delivery system is in operation throughout the day in providing quality services for ill-equipped healthcare communities thus reducing the disparities. 

Currently, we are in the second stage of the Clinton Global Initiative for Universities, Verizon Challenge. This challenge awards finalists a grant of about $20,000 to further develop their ideas to the next level. In addition, we won a grant of $5,000 from the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship program. Both these programs further provide support for us through entrepreneurship and leadership mentorship thereby further expanding our perspectives and understanding of our solution and how it can be used to make the greatest impact.