Drones To Deliver Medicines To Tribal Hospitals in AP
The health, medical and family welfare department has entered into an agreement with Red Wing to operate drone-based medical logistics, with Paderu in Alluri Sitharama Raju district serving as the central hub
By : MD Ilyas
Update: 2025-12-24 14:33 GMT
Vijayawada: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Andhra Pradesh government will deploy drones to transport medicines, vaccines and blood units to hospitals in remote tribal areas to strengthen emergency healthcare delivery.
The health, medical and family welfare department has entered into an agreement with Red Wing to operate drone-based medical logistics, with Paderu in Alluri Sitharama Raju district serving as the central hub. Services are expected to commence by the end of next month.
Under the arrangement, drones will supply medicines and blood units to Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) within a 60–80 km radius of Paderu. Each drone will carry up to two kilograms and will be equipped with cold-chain facilities to ensure safe transport.
The drones will also transport blood, stool and urine samples from health centres to laboratories for diagnostic testing, reducing delays in obtaining critical reports.
Health and family welfare commissioner G. Veerapandyan said the service provider, which is already operating similar projects in Arunachal Pradesh, would offer the service free for the first six to seven months as part of a proof-of-concept phase.
Highlighting the challenges of road connectivity in hilly tribal regions, officials said the initiative would help save lives during medical emergencies. The government is also considering extending the service to transport medicines from King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam, to Paderu in the future.