The project ‘i-DRONE’ (ICMR’s Drone Response and Outreach for North East) assessed the feasibility of using drones to deliver vaccines and medical supplies. This was carried out in difficult geographical terrains including land, islands, foothills, and hills. Collaborations with the State Health Mission of Manipur and Nagaland were key to such assessment. All necessary regulatory approvals from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airport Authority of India (AAI), and the State Health Authorities of Nagaland and Manipur were obtained before the implementation of this initiative. Eighty Drone sorties were undertaken in three districts of Manipur namely Imphal West, Bishnupur, and Churachandpur, and two districts of Nagaland- Mokokchung, and Tuensang. The aforementioned operations connected the district hospitals to the community and primary health care centres in the study districts.
The medical supplies delivered under the i-Drone project included COVID-19 vaccines, vaccines used in routine immunization programs, antenatal care medicines, multivitamins, syringes, and gloves. The drone delivery system focused on an end-to-end ecosystem for drone-based logistic transportation within the states and was the first successful example of delivering vaccines through drones from land to islands in South Asia. The longest drone flight under this project carried 3525 units of medical supplies from Mokokchung to the district Tuensang in Nagaland (approx. 40 km). Over 20,000 units of medical supplies were delivered through the drones in the states of Manipur and Nagaland. In-depth interviews with 35 officials and healthcare workers helped understand the challenges associated with delivering medical facilities in hard-to-reach areas and to assess the acceptability of novel technologies in the existing health infrastructure. Over 70 healthcare workers were trained for packaging vaccine boxes and loading and unloading payloads into and from the drones. The hands-on training was provided to the local Healthcare workers, which enabled them to facilitate the delivery of medical supplies by Drone. Preliminary findings indicated the willingness of the local level stakeholders to use drone technology in logistic management pertaining to State-level care delivery. Drones repeatedly and accurately delivered medical supplies faster than other methods deployed for delivery and without additional risks to personnel or manned airframes.
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