After Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh too has taken a sky route through drones to deliver medicines and vaccines in its inaccessible remote terrains and in emergency situations. Recently, it launched ‘Medicine from the sky’ project drone services at Ziro, Lower Subansiri district to provide medical help to the people residing in the far flung areas. The project was launched in the presence of Arunachal Pradesh Health and Family Welfare Minister Alo Libang. Apollo Hospital’s HealthNet Global is the clinical partner in the initiative which will oversee the training and monitoring of adherence to clinical protocols.
“By deploying drones to transport vaccines and medications to isolated areas of India, this project is fundamentally addressing deficiencies in our healthcare delivery system. Additionally, the programme is creating guidelines for policymakers and health systems to analyse the advantages and challenges of drones delivering vaccines,” Vikram Thaploo, CEO of HealthNet Global said about the project.
Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group added that drones can quickly transport supplies that can save lives of vulnerable populations by removing excess hurdles.
“The idea of on-demand drone delivery has emerged as the nation’s ground-breaking innovation that can bring about the long-delayed goal of ensuring equal access to healthcare in order to save and improve lives. With a myriad of benefits, drones cannot only revolutionize healthcare but also logistics and transportation, bringing us one step closer to saving and improving a billion people’s lives, she said.”
“By delivering medical goods to hard-to-reach places, drones are saving lives across the world. The pandemic has accelerated the way healthcare providers use drones to deliver medicines and vaccines worldwide because they are particularly useful in places where road connectivity and refrigerated transport are a challenge.
“The transition from ineffective health supply chains to digital, resilient infrastructure that decreases waste and enhances health outcomes is being accelerated by initiatives like the ‘Medicine from the Sky’, added Thaploo. Drone based medical services are now being seen as an easy way to reachout to the people in the far off areas needing healthcare.
The Meghalaya government in partnership with startup TechEagle unveiled Asia’s first drone delivery hub and network on December 6, 2022 in a bid to provide universal access to healthcare for the people in the state. The project is aimed at delivering vital supplies like drugs, diagnostic samples, vaccines, blood and blood components quickly and safely to different regions of the state using a dedicated drone delivery network, said an official from the State Health Department.
The authorities have started realising the potential of drones in various areas including health. While the unmanned Aerial Vehicles were deployed by the Union Health Ministry during Covid pandemic to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to access compromised areas and strengthen the vaccine delivery system, a study has found that the cutting-edge technology can play a vital role in India’s battle against Tuberculosis (TB) by reducing sputum transportation time.
A team of ICMR scientists had conducted a feasibility study comparing transportation tests between two modes of vehicles — UAVs and conventional bikes in Chamba in Himachal Pradesh. They observed that sputum transportation by UAVs was feasible, cheaper and an efficacious potential alternative to conventional modes of transportation. The study is published in the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.