As the Ebola crisis decimates Africa, treatment and containment has become as much a problem of logistics as an issue of healthcare. The most heavily affected region has a shortage of trucks, impassable roadways and supply chain complications, including thieves and rampant corruption. In addition to these complications in getting supplies where they need to go, the same issues make it difficult to remove materials from the affected areas for safe disposal. Beyond that, aid workers are often reticent to travel into the areas most in need of assistance for fear of exposure to the disease.

Many of these problems could be alleviated with the use of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles have high success rates delivering supplies to American military troops in remote parts of Afghanistan, and might find equal attainment delivering humanitarian aid to remote areas in a way that would bypass roads, the risk of theft, and even much of the health risk associated with providing treatment supplies to those in greatest need. Unfortunately, civilian-level drones are unlikely to be sufficient in this case, as current models lack the ability to deliver the sheer amount of materials needed to make a difference. This means that only drones owned and operated by the U.S. government likely have the capacity to make a difference in the Ebola crisis. Two such drones are currently available, in storage in New York awaiting their next mission.

In addition to avoiding the myriad problems presented by traditional ground transports, drones actually cost significantly less to operate than manned missions, and require fewer people to complete them. Though the drones would not solve all logistical problems, and would need to be accompanied by the education of local populations to their non-military purpose, they would likely simplify the fight against Ebola dramatically, simply by their presence. These drones are a valuable asset the government could be utilizing to fight a global healthcare catastrophe — another example of a way controversial technology could be utilized to reduce casualties abroad.