Innovative uses of UAVs (drones) for

development and humanitarian aid.

Ask an Analyst
Response
1
 One of our community members requested that we look into innovative

uses of UAVs (drones) for humanitarian and development purposes. Our

analysts put together the following examples.

Transport and Delivery

1. Where: Malawi
Programme: The head of HIV for the UN childrens fund has launched a programme in which
drones are being used to deliver HIV/AIDS medications to Malawian children in need. Due to a
large proportion of the population living in remote and rural areas and the poor state of roads in
Malawi, one of the principal challenges in providing relief has been to deliver both tests and
medications to those at risk in a timely fashion. So, in collaboration with Unicef, a California-
based company, Matternet, developed a prototype UAV fit to purpose. Though this programme is
still in its early stages, it does offer hope for radically altering the treatment of HIV/AIDS in
Malawi. A similar programme has also been launched in Bhutan to deliver medications.

2. Where: Rwanda
Programme: A Silicon Valley-based robotics firm, Zipline, have been piloting a programme in
Rwanda where drones are used to deliver blood to hospital facilities around the country. Using
fixed-wing droneswhich have a greater range and are more resilient than the standard
multicopter modelsto provide both regular and emergency deliveries of plasma, this
programme has already proven to be effective. There are however detractors who are skeptical
about the lack of transparency regarding the terms of the partnership between the Rwandan
Ministry of Health and Zipline. Furthermore, while the drones are effective at delivering time-
sensitive resources like blood and certain medicines, others have also complained that the
programme does not address the countrys other more pressing health-related issues, like a lack
of trained and qualified staff, a demand for more ambulances and so forth.

Mapping and Monitoring

3. Where: Indonesia
Programme: The United Nations Pulse Lab Jakarta has recently launched a programme that
uses drones to map and monitor the health of crops. Pests and disease are a menace to
Indonesian crops that have thus far been combatted with the blanket application of pesticides.
However, this solution has proven to be both costly and cumbersome. Alternatively, Pulse Labs
programme attempts to use drones to localize the afflicted areas in order to carefully target the
application of pesticides and treatments to salvage affected crops. This use of UAVs for
agriculture and food mapping has since been replicated by other organisations and universities
in Indonesia.

4. Where: Malaysia
Programme: Following a devastating flood in Malaysia last year that killed 20 people and
displaced thousands, the Malaysian government has developed its own drones in order to map
and monitor flooding and other potential disaster areas. In the case of a flood or disaster, these
UAVs relay crucial data to relevant agencies thereby informing carefully targeted rescue efforts
and greatly improving the efficiency and effectiveness of relief. A similar programme has also
been launched in Saudi Arabia.

1
Attitudes and Guidance

5. Where: Switzerland
Programme: The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) undertook a survey to assess the
perception of the use of UAVs within humanitarian aid. The surveytaken by nearly 200
humanitarian professionals in English, French, and Spanishfound that the response to the
introduction of drone technology to humanitarian aid is largely hopeful and positive. The few
detractors were principally concerned with the potential for confusion between the drone as a
military technology rather than as a means of delivering humanitarian aid. Nevertheless, there
seems to be an overwhelming interest in the potential benefits UAVs could bring to the
challenges of humanitarian aid work.

6. Where: United States of America

Programme: Perhaps marginal, though potentially of interest: Governing has recently published
a piece about the procurement challenges facing governments interested in purchasing UAVs for
anything from monitoring traffic to finding the best way to extinguish a fire. Broadly, concerns
gravitate around having a sufficient understanding both of UAV technology as well as of the
specificity of the tasks the drones will be put to. Herein youll find a set of guidelines published by
the National Association of State Procurement (NASPO) to brief state officials interested in
procuring UAVs.

If you have any questions about or suggestions for innovative uses of UAVs in humanitarian aid,
please get in touch by posting or commenting on this post.

If you have any questions or suggestions for us, feel free to reach out to our community manager
Darius Lerup on the platform or by email at darius.lerup@apolitical.co