Drones bridge healthcare gaps in Andhra’s tribal belt
In a district where difficult terrain often makes access to healthcare a challenge, drones are being used to transport medical samples, medicines, vaccines and other essential supplies to remote tribal habitations.
The pilot project, launched by the Andhra Pradesh government in Alluri Sitharama Raju district in January 2026, has so far completed more than 1,800 trips. Four drones deployed under the project have covered over 71,000 km, the State government said.
According to Health Minister Y. Satya Kumar, the drones have transported more than 2,200 medical samples, including 596 samples for sickle cell screening. The service has enabled more than 9,000 diagnostic tests and benefited around 24,500 patients, he said in a statement on Sunday.
The drone network is currently linked to nine healthcare facilities in the district. These include the Government General Hospital at Paderu, Primary Health Centres at Lothugedda, Tajangi, Sunkarimetta, Bheemavaram and Ananthagiri, the Community Health Centre at Munchingiputtu, and 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 Primary Health Centre to R.K. Nagar village.
The government plans to expand the service to other remote tribal areas following the Chief Minister’s directions, Satya Kumar said.
K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu, Commissioner of Medical, Health and Family Welfare, said the drones would also be used to transport emergency medicines, vaccines and medical equipment.
The initiative is aimed at reducing the need for patients in remote tribal areas to undertake long journeys through difficult terrain to access healthcare services. It is also expected to support sickle cell disease screening by speeding up the movement of samples from remote areas to healthcare facilities.
The State government has so far trained 25 local tribal youths to operate the drones, Chakradhar Babu said.