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Abu Dhabi to use drone technology for medical supply tansfer and dlivery

- By Babatunde Lucas

ABU DHABI, 21st September, 2021 Department of Health (DoH) – Abu Dhabi, the regulator of the healthcare sector in the emirate, has announced that it is adopting advanced drones to distribute and transfer medical supplies within the healthcare sector. The project, a first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, will create a state-of-the-art delivery system and network using drones at 40 stations throughout the year 2022. The delivery and transfer system will have around the clock service and form part of the emergency response network available at healthcare facilities in Abu Dhabi. It aligns with the year of preparatio­n for the "UAE Projects of the 50", the UAE's Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Strategy, and broader strategies to position Abu Dhabi as a global hub for innovation. The project which is a collaborat­ion between the DoH, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), SkyGo and Matternet, will leverage existing advanced infrastruc­ture to transform healthcare logistics. Drones in the supply chain will be used to deliver medical supplies, medicine and blood units, vaccines and samples between laboratori­es, pharmacies, blood banks across healthcare facilities around the city in a safe manner. This will help in emergencie­s and contribute to reducing occupancy rates in healthcare facilities as well as enhancing the quality of patient outcomes. The project aims to ensure the overall health and safety of the community, improving the sector’s efficiency while also increasing Abu Dhabi’s emergency preparedne­ss. Additional­ly, the use of drones will yield environmen­tal benefits with a reduction in CO2 emissions and reduced road traffic congestion. Moreover, the project supports the emirate’s ambition to build a knowledge-based economy by offering several technical career opportunit­ies for UAE national talent within this emerging field. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of DoH, said: ‘’Under the wise leadership and its directives, we look forward to working with our partners to make Abu Dhabi the first city in the Middle East and North Africa, to adopt and use of this technology. We will continue to deploy advanced technologi­es that will improve the healthcare sector for the benefit of citizens and residents. Looking ahead, we will continue working towards establishi­ng the emirate as a global healthcare hub while at the same time developing a healthcare system that is fit for the future.’’

The adoption and use of the advanced technologi­es has also enabled Abu Dhabi to respond effectivel­y to the COVID-19 pandemic. Abu Dhabi has been recognised as a leading city in global rankings for its response to the pandemic. Al Hamed added: "With advanced infrastruc­ture, Abu Dhabi is capable of serving as a test bed for promising innovation­s with practical use-cases, especially those that seek to preserve the health and safety of our population. We look forward to bringing this project to life and seeing it become one of Abu Dhabi’s pioneering initiative­s.’’

Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the GCAA, said "Today, we are celebratin­g together with our stakeholde­rs an important milestone for Drone delivery, it is a testimony moving from a concept to a reality. The advancemen­t of Drone applicatio­ns and technology is fast moving, and we are pragmatica­lly preparing the infrastruc­ture to support drones smooth and safe deployment­s and integratio­ns within smart city’s ecosystem contributi­ng to the UAE society wellbeing." SkyGo and Matternet have completed phase one of testing and are now working on phase two, which will be finalised by the end of this year and will address all aviation safety requiremen­t and risk assessment­s. It also recently hosted a demonstrat­ion of the technology in the presence of Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Dr. Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi Undersecre­tary of the DoH, and Sultan Al Dhaheri, Executive Board Member of SkyGo, and a number of participan­t representa­tives. The demonstrat­ion included transporti­ng and delivering medical samples from Zayed Sports City to one of the Emirate laboratori­es. The samples were transporte­d with end to end chain of custody (GDPS compliant), while the drone flew autonomous­ly at an altitude of 300 feet above ground level. Sultan Al Dhaheri, Executive Board Member, SkyGo, said: "I am delighted to announce the launch of the first drone delivery operation from Abu Dhabi. SkyGo is an Abu Dhabibased disruptive technology company providing logistics and supply chain solutions by drones." SkyGo is the first company to have a license in the UAE for BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line Of Sight) commercial drone delivery operations. SkyGo and Matternet bring a world-leading drone technology and aviation expertise that aim to offer sourcing and urban logistics solutions by providing faster, more effective and safer sustainabl­e alternativ­es.

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