U.S. robotics company Zipline, which launched the world's first commercial drone delivery service, in Rwanda, says it is close to expanding to Tanzania. It has been delivering emergency blood supplies within Rwanda since 2016.

A fully-equipped medical ship has set sail from Rosyth on an epic 6,600 mile transatlantic voyage to Peru. The Vine Trust's MV Forth Hope is heading to the remote Amazonian city of Iquitos in Peru where it will provide life-changing healthcare services to isolated and vulnerable communities.

Egypt sent a cargo of medical aid including medicines and other medical supplies to neighboring conflict-stricken Libya, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. [...] Hosting several meetings between Libyan rival factions, Egypt is keen on reaching a political settlement to restore security and stability to the war-torn neighboring country whose chaotic conditions pose a threat to the Egyptian western borders with eastern Libya.

Sitting in class, studying for a bachelors’ degree in business at the University of Kansas, Heidi Rickels felt her heart beating faster every time the professors talked about developing economies or international issues. So, after graduation, she moved to Colorado and began working for a nonprofit based in Denver that collects donated medical supplies to send overseas. 

With a total pledge of $38 million, China’s assistance has been dwarfed by the $175 million given by the United States. But that has not deterred the state media from highlighting China’s role in reining in the epidemic. While emphasizing the heroism of Chinese medical teams and “selflessness” of the humanitarian aid, it also touted the country’s “rich” experience and expertise in fighting major disease outbreaks.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said on Wednesday it would spend $40m – on top of $10m already committed – to support the emergency response to west Africa's Ebola outbreak – the group's largest donation yet to a humanitarian effort. "It became clear to us over the last 7 to 10 days that the pace and scope of the epidemic was increasing significantly," Chris Elias, president of global development for the world's largest charitable foundation, told Associated Press.

China's international reputation for humanitarian aid is among the worst of the globe's superpowers. As Quartz reports, the new shipment of millions of dollars in medical supplies and workers could be the beginnings of an attempt to reshape that reputation. Only 0.4% of China's foreign aid goes directly to humanitarian causes, rather that infrastructure projects or business efforts that could serve to improve nations' trade with China as much as it could help the nations themselves. In Africa, particularly, China's actions have appeared self-rewarding rather than altruistic.