Saudi Arabia's health minister said Monday that the new drone service for delivering medicine during Hajj is the result of two years of thorough research and experimentation, Arab News reported.
“This modern technology aims to deliver medicines on a large scale during the Hajj season while reducing the time required to deliver medical supplies to just six minutes, compared to 90 minutes using ground transportation,” Saudi Health Minister Fahad Al-Jalajel said.
The service will remove obstacles faced by medicine deliveries, the minister said, such as those caused by vehicular and human congestion at the holy sites, where nearly 1.25 million pilgrims are expected to gather to take part in the Hajj, a key pillar of Islam, which begins on June 4 and continues until June 9.
According to the Health Ministry , trials over the past two years allowed for system safety testing, including ensuring that high temperatures, which can get unbearably hot at pilgrimage locations, do not damage the medicine.
The drones are equipped with precise cooling systems and are subjected to multiple temperature tests during takeoff and landing, Saudi Health Minister informed.
The drone initiative is part of the comprehensive healthcare transformation taking place in the Kingdom, under the Saudi Vision 2030 program, which seeks to reform the country, including developing healthcare services for residents and visitors.
“One of the most notable achievements of this transformation is the establishment of the Seha Virtual Hospital, the largest in the world according to the Guinness World Records.”
The virtual hospital, which is linked to the Kingdom’s Sehaty health app, serves more than 200 hospitals, and is accessible to all individuals in Saudi Arabia without exception.
“The Kingdom is applying advanced technologies in the fields of robotic surgery, stroke management, and the use of artificial intelligence in health services, reflecting the serious trend towards digitizing the health sector,” Al-Jalajel said.
Al-Jalajel said the health ministry remains committed to addressing global health challenges with innovative and effective solutions, adding that pilgrims will see increasingly advanced technologies implemented in upcoming Hajj seasons.
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
