Apollo Hospital launches ‘Medicines from the Sky’ at Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh

The ‘Medicine from the sky’ project drone service was successfully launched today at Ziro, Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh in the presence of honourable health and family welfare minister, Alo Libang. ‘Medicine from the sky’ is also a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This pilot project is a result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to introduce new technologies in the healthcare sector of India.

The State has been at the forefront of utilising cutting-edge technologies, and the project is an exciting intersection of technology and healthcare. Drones might be useful for accessing rural places and in emergency situations. They are already being used for a variety of purposes throughout the State, including afforestation.

Apollo Hospital’s HealthNet Global is the clinical partner in the initiative which will oversee the training and monitoring of adherence to clinical protocols.

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 – said Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group.

Speaking about the launch of the project, Mr Vikram Thaploo, CEO of HealthNet Global 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 the ‘Medicine from the Sky’ initiative. By employing 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.”