Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviews a drone project aimed at transporting essential medicines and equipment for emergency treatments to agency areas, in Amaravati.
The drone-based medical transportation system being implemented by the State government as a pilot project is yielding encouraging results in Alluri Sitharama Raju district.Launched in January 2026, the pilot project currently has four drones in operation. They have made more than 1,800 trips, covering over 71,000 km, to transport medical samples, medicines, vaccines and other essential healthcare supplies to difficult-to-reach tribal habitations.Health Minister Y. Satya Kumar, in a release on Sunday, said the drone-based system had so far transported more than 2,200 medical samples, including 596 samples for sickle cell screening. The system had enabled more than 9,000 diagnostic tests and benefited 24,500 patients, he said.The Minister said the system had been integrated with eight healthcare facilities, including the Government General Hospital at Paderu, Primary Health Centres at Lothugedda, Tajangi, Sunkarimetta, Bheemavaram and Ananthagiri, the Community Health Centre at Munchingiputtu, and the area hospitals at Chintapalli and Araku.On August 29, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched a programme to transport medical test reports, vaccines and medicines by drone from the Gannela PHC to R.K. Nagar village. Following the Chief Minister’s instructions, the drone services would be expanded to other remote tribal areas, Mr. Satya Kumar said.Commissioner of Medical, Health and Family Welfare K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu said the drones would also be used to deliver emergency medicines, vaccines and other medical equipment. The initiative would reduce the need for patients to travel long distances through inaccessible terrain to access healthcare services, he said.The system would be particularly useful for sickle cell disease screening, he said, adding that the State government had so far trained 25 local tribal youth to operate the drones. Published - August 30, 2026 07:49 pm IST
