Next Generation Medical Logistics

Worldwide, at least 400 million people do not have access to essential health services, many of them in rural hard to reach regions. This is a major impediment to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Amongst others, overcoming it requires reliable transport links between remote health centers and provincial/central hospitals. Technologically, this is now realistic. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can contribute to solving the existing supply chain challenges by making deliveries of urgently needed, lifesaving supplies to off-grid communities faster and cheaper while allowing for better tracking. Initial pilot payload delivery projects utilizing UAVs were launched in e.g. Rwanda, Papua New Guinea and Germany. The planned session aims at bringing experts (e.g. innovators, developers, industry, governments, NGOs) with practical experience together to share lessons learned for future cargo UAV medical applications. Besides the technical and regulatory aspects, ways of embedding the technology into the existing health infrastructure, as well as locally sustainable business models will be discussed.