AP Health Department ties up with ‘Red Wing’

In a major initiative aimed at improving access to emergency healthcare in remote tribal regions, the Andhra Pradesh Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department has entered into a key agreement with private drone logistics firm Red Wing to supply medicines and blood units to interior hospitals using drones.

Under the agreement, drone services will be operated with Paderu as the central hub to serve healthcare facilities located in hard-to-reach tribal areas of Alluri Sitharama Raju district. The services are expected to be launched by the end of next month.

The agreement was formally signed between Health and Family Welfare Commissioner Veerapandian and Red Wing representative Kundan Madireddy. As part of the initiative, the company has agreed to provide drone services free of cost for the first six to seven months. Red Wing has already been successfully operating similar services in Arunachal Pradesh.

Paderu will function as the main drone hub, covering Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) located within a radius of 60 to 80 kilometres. The drones will be equipped with cold-chain facilities to ensure safe transportation of temperature-sensitive medicines and vaccines. Each drone can carry a payload of up to two kilograms.

In addition to delivering medicines and vaccines, the drones will also transport blood units during emergencies. On return trips, they will carry blood, urine, and stool samples collected from patients to diagnostic laboratories, significantly reducing delays in medical testing.

Commissioner Veerapandian said the drone-based services would commence by the end of next month and would play a crucial role in saving lives in time-critical situations.

Officials noted that transporting medicines to tribal hill areas through road networks is often time-consuming due to difficult terrain and poor connectivity. With the primary objective of providing timely medical intervention, the coalition government has prioritised the use of drone technology in healthcare delivery.