State Pharma to Test Drone Medicine Delivery in First Quarter of Next Year

The national medicine company, State Pharma, has announced preparations to begin delivering medicine by drone in the Maldives in the first quarter of next year. A test round of carrying samples to laboratories using drones has already been held. Speaking to journalists regarding the operations of State Pharma's main medicine warehouse in Hulhumalé, Chief Commercial Officer Ahmed Imad said work is underway to compile a special database by gathering information from various islands of the Maldives and relevant institutions to resolve difficulties with medicines used for chronic diseases. He also said arrangements are being made to share information on unavailable chronic medicines with the public. Imad said regulatory and supply chain obstacles in importing medicine from abroad are now being resolved, with the aim of importing medicine within approximately two weeks in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA). He also said that with the help of special systems established starting from April, medicine stocks that are low in various parts of the Maldives have been identified. With this information, planning and procurement teams are working together to secure the essential medicines needed. Imad said work on a pilot project to use drones to carry medicine from one place to another in the Maldives is underway, with testing targeted within the first quarter of next year and expansion to the whole Maldives after reviewing the results. "Right now, what we are working on is using drones to carry medicine from one place to another as a pilot project. We are looking to start this work within the first quarter. As a pilot project, once that is tested and the results are reviewed, it can be developed in a planned manner for a large part of the Maldives," Imad said. State Pharma's Chief Technology Officer Ahmed Ziyau Said said work is underway to establish a Citizen Portal to make it easier for the general public to obtain medicine. He said the portal will show where medicine is available and what type it is. "The most difficult thing for the people is which pharmacy the medicine is in—some medicines may not be in one pharmacy, so one has to go from one pharmacy to another. We will bring that to a stop by the end of November. Once the portal is launched, it will be visible where medicine is being sold, how much there is, and whether it is available," Ziyau said. Ziyau said that through this portal, any person can also check at a glance whether medicine is in stock or not. Carrying samples and medicine using drones is already being done in some countries of the world, and State Pharma believes the initiative will provide desirable solutions to the difficulties faced in obtaining medicine from the islands.