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Medicine from the Sky, a flagship initiative by the World Economic Forum, is to be launched in Arunachal Pradesh, north-east India, on Independence Day, 15 August.
The aim is to document how health systems in remote parts of the state respond to the integration of drone-based supply chains. After numerous confidence-building pilot schemes across the country, the Arunachal Pradesh initiative focuses on a more elaborate agenda involving deeper operational planning and observations.
The six-month programme will be centred around four pillars:
- Basic healthcare needs – regular services for vaccines; iron, folic acid, nutrition supplements; prophylactic and mass drug administration; diagnostic sample collection; emergency medications; blood and blood products
- Ecosystem skill levels, terrain, weather considerations – identification of local stakeholders, including engineering, medical, paramedical, humanities and management colleges; technical and skill development institutes; find continuous source for weather data and real-time prediction
- Survivability, scalability and sustainability – resource estimation, impact assessment and economics
- Stress testing of drone platforms – ascertaining ability of available technologies to handle undulating terrain
“In mid-2021, we undertook a field study in Arunachal Pradesh, along with the Public Health Foundation of India, to learn more about the local health distribution system, disease profile and the nature of the terrain. Traversing the Seppa-Bameng belt by road, in particular, made it evident that drones were an absolute necessity,” said Vignesh Santhanam, Lead, Aerospace and Drones, World Economic Forum.
“Through our learnings in Telangana, we are looking to stress-test our systems in Arunachal Pradesh under the liberalized drone regime while factoring in economic principles from the point of initiation. For this purpose, we will work on two bell-weather districts – East Kameng and Lower Subansiri – over an extended time frame and supplement ongoing central initiatives with data and examples while empowering local governments with drone-based solutions. We are also planning awareness campaigns for local youth and students,” he added.
In a first of its kind approach to raise awareness among rural youth, the District Collector of East Kameng has called on all heads of participating villages to nominate “drone ambassadors” in parallel with an essay-writing competition on drones for village school students.
In the context of celebrations for India’s 75 years of independence, the initiative will be formally launched at East Kameng district in the presence of key state officials, care workers, local youth and key partners – the Public Health Foundation of India, Redwing Labs, Tech Eagle, Apollo Hospitals HealthNet Global (clinical partner) and USAID which will contribute to the drone programme. The initiative will be launched by Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh in the presence of key decision makers including Mama Natung, Minister for Environment & Forest, Sports & Youth Affairs and Water Resources, Arunachal Pradesh; Sharat Chauhan, Health Secretary, Arunachal Pradesh; Pravimal Abhishek Polumatla, East Kameng Deputy Commissioner; Nabam Peter, CEO, State Health Authority; and Vignesh Santhanam, World Economic Forum.
The East Kameng leg of the initiative is supported by SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Financing Facility and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Medicine from the Sky
In June 2020, the World Economic Forum in partnership with the state of Arunachal Pradesh hosted a session to discuss the use of drones in medical logistics and delivery in remote tribal areas. Floods and landslides have often impacted the last mile delivery of medicine, isolating populations. The session was quickly followed by a field visit in north-eastern India by the World Economic Forum and the Public Health Foundation of India. Discussions with local healthcare workers and visits to remote health establishments clearly established the urgent need for drone corridors across the state.
“East Kameng district has a hilly terrain which makes it difficult to access interior areas, particularly during the monsoon season. I am sure drone-based drug delivery will be a game-changer in strengthening access to healthcare in such remote areas. I hope the project will give us the answers and clarity for large-scale implementation,” said Pravimal Abhishek Polumatla, district magistrate.
“By delivering medical supplies much faster than road-based logistics, the drone network would serve the remote areas by offering access to diagnostics, essential medicines and vaccines. We are hoping this will reduce out-of-pocket expenditure for patients,” he added.
