'Medicines from the sky': Pilot project launched to deliver medicines by drones in Arunachal Pradesh

The healthcare drone pilots in Arunachal Pradesh are an outcome of the state’s partnership with the WEF’s ‘Medicines From the Sky’ initiative

In a bid to improve healthcare access to communities in remote areas, a pilot project was launched at Seppa in Arunachal Pradesh's East Kameng district Monday to set up a drone network for aerial delivery of medicines.

Redwing Labs, a startup, would provide ‘Made in India’ hybrid Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) drones and run end-to-end operations for the project. "The drone network is being set up on a limited experimental basis to pilot aerial healthcare deliveries in the state. The network would enable diagnostics and emergency treatments in the local health centers," said a statement issued by Redwing Labs.

The healthcare drone pilots in Arunachal Pradesh are an outcome of the state’s partnership with the World Economic Forum’s ‘Medicines From the Sky’ (MFTS) initiative. It is supported by the SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Financing Facility, an initiative backed by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by IPE Global.

"By delivering medical supplies up to eight times faster than road-based logistics, the drone network would serve the population of East Kameng by offering a better quality of care in the interior blocks," the startup said.

The SAMRIDH initiative was taken up during the Covid-19 pandemic to support healthcare enterprises and innovators across India. It provides grants and facilitates debt financing to healthcare initiatives to support scale up of high-impact health solutions that can improve access to quality healthcare for vulnerable communities. Telangana, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha and Uttarakhand have done pilots and experimental flights. Drones carried multiple health products including vaccines, essential drugs and diagnostic samples.

The pilot goes beyond just technical feasibility and focuses on multiple aspects, including integration with existing health systems, community involvement, local technology training and employment, and impact on health and economic outcomes, said the statement quoting Anshul Sharma, CEO and Co-Founder of Redwing Labs.