'Medicines From The Sky': In A First, Drone Delivers Life-Saving Drugs To Remote Areas Of Arunachal Pradesh

In a remarkable accomplishment, a drone service conducted the first-ever delivery of medicine from Seppa to a remote region of Bana located in the Richukrong circle of East Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh. The initiative, which was led by the state government collaboratively with the World Economic Forum (WEF), will "drastically reduce the time and turmoil in moments of medical necessity in the remote regions of the state."

In a remarkable feat, the first delivery of medicine under the #EastKameng district, through a drone service was successfully conducted. This initiative by #GoAP will drastically reduce the time & turmoil in moments of medical necessity in the remote regions of the state. pic.twitter.com/RNsnB3F5Wy

— MyGov Arunachal Pradesh (@MyGovArunachal) November 10, 2022

About 'Medicines From The Sky' Initiative

Redwing Aerospace, a Bengaluru-based company that manufactures drones, conducted and kick-started the pilot test of the drones service network to deliver life-saving drugs to Seppa in August 2022. Funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the initiative titled 'Medicines From The Sky' was launched under WEF's authority. The project is currently in its initial stages and is a continuation of the visual line-of-sight drone delivery mocks that commenced in Telangana under the state government and WEF's partnership.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with WEF to explore and assess the possibility of using drones to deliver life-saving drugs in the remote regions and inaccessible terrain of the northeastern state. While trials had been conducted earlier, the delivery on Wednesday was the first successful attempt at delivering medicines in the East Kameng region.

Use Of Drones Revolutionary

The East Kameng region is particularly inaccessible by roads as it has hilly terrain. Thus, it becomes difficult to reach areas in the deep interior of the region by foot, let alone a vehicle. Residents of the area often have to struggle to get primary healthcare and medical assistance. As per district magistrate Pravimal Abhishek Polumatla, the situation worsens during monsoons when water gets accumulated in certain areas, with puddles and murkier roads in others.

At such a juncture, the delivery of medicines using drones that can navigate the areas aerially and guarantee non-contamination and safety of the pharmaceuticals is a revolutionary move. The drones will also connect the health care centres to the districts, ensuring timely assistance is provided to those in need.

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