Arunachal: In a first, drone used to deliver medicines to remote health centre in East Kameng
The service of delivering medicines by drone is going to start from August 15.
ITANAGAR- Drones will now deliver medicines to remote areas of East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. The service of delivering medicines by drone is going to start from August 15. To test the technical capabilities of drones, the state government in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF) will launch an initiative “Medicine from the Sky” through which the government will understand how effective it is to deliver medicines using drones to remote parts of the state will be proved.
In February this year, the Pema Khandu government and the WEF signed an agreement to use drones for medical services. It aims to create a blueprint for implementing the right policies and scale up drone services in the state. District Magistrate Pravimal Abhishek Polumtala told that there is a hilly area in East Kameng district, whose interiors become difficult to reach during the monsoon season.
He said that I am sure that the technology of delivering medicine by drone will prove to be a game changer in such remote areas. Drone delivery of medicines will be done much faster than road-based services.
It is hoped that this will reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of the patients. Right now this service will be started as an experiment for 6-8 months. After that it will be implemented in other districts.
Telangana is the first State in the country where “Medicine from the Sky” launched in September, 2021 in Vikarabad. Under this project, medicines, vaccination, and units of blood has been delivered to remote, rural areas through drones. (with input from agencies )
