Meghalaya Health Minister James PK Sangma is a proud guy who led his team to a remarkable accomplishment, maybe India’s first in terms of pharmaceutical distribution.
The topography of Meghalaya is steep, making it difficult to get medications or supplies to these outlying places. The Jengjal Drone Station delivered 1.5 kg of pharmaceuticals to the Jengal Subdivisional Hospital in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills District on Monday 5 December, marking the debut of India’s first drug-delivery drone station.
Revolutionizing Healthcare With Drone Power!
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) December 6, 2022
Northeast's 1st drone delivery hub in Meghalaya will strengthen health services in the region by supplying medicines in remote areas.
PM @NarendraModi Ji's Govt is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring last-mile healthcare delivery. pic.twitter.com/WVRQNXCIi2
Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Health Minister, tweeted, “Drones are revolutionising healthcare! The Northeast’s first drone delivery centre in Meghalaya will improve health care in the region by delivering medications to inaccessible locations. The government of Prime Minister @NarendraModiJi is going above and beyond to ensure last-mile healthcare delivery.”
The drone, a cert-plane X3 made by a start-up, delivered the payload in 36 minutes to the Pedaldoba Primary Health Centre. Compare that to the nearly two and a half hours it would have taken if the drugs had been delivered by road (if there were roads in the remote area).
According to Ramkumar S, project director of the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project (MHSSP), “This drone is capable of carrying a payload of up to 4 kg. We anticipate bigger drones carrying up to 25 kg of pharmaceuticals, anti-snake venom vials, and other healthcare essentials by March 2023.”
According to the MHSSP project director, the MHSSP wants to establish a fleet of high-capacity drones that will assist the state government in carrying out plans to scale up air transportation for farmers in rural locations. Ramkumar S said that his team is investigating the viability of flying seeds to farmers and transporting their agricultural output to markets.
James PK Sangma, the state Health Minister of Meghalaya, stated, “The terrain frequently interferes with giving services to the people of Meghalaya. The Jengjal Drone Station is hoped to be the first of many such stations to provide services to people in distant places.”
Meghalaya’s 12 districts are all spread out over steep terrain.
The first official drone flight took off on Monday from Jengjal Sub Divisional Hospital, which will serve as the hub, and transported pharmaceuticals to Padeldoba Primary Health Centre in less than 30 minutes, which would have taken 2.5 hours by road, according to a release from TechEagle.
There are 6,861 villages in Meghalaya as per government record.
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