[ Bengia Ajum ]
NEW DELHI, 15 Mar: Two women – Sima Pizi and Nikh Jasmine – are playing an important role in the execution of the medicine from the sky (MFTS) project in East Kameng district.
The MFTS was started on a pilot basis in East Kameng in September 2022 by the government of Arunachal Pradesh, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
While Pizi is working as a medical coordinator under the MFTS, Jasmine is working as the drone operator.
On Wednesday, both were felicitated here by the USAID and MOMENTUM, a global partnership for health and resilience, to mark the International Women’s Day (IWD).
Jasmine is the first female drone operator in the health sector in India. Before starting her journey as a drone operator, she was working as a paragliding pilot in the advanced level.
Speaking to this daily, Jasmine said that she is still under training and learning the tricks of being a drone operator.
“I joined with Red Wings, which is operating drones under MFTS in East Kameng district, in the first week of January. It’s been a really good experience. Red Wings is not only giving local youths employment opportunities but also the chance to learn new technology,” she said.
Jasmine further said that serving people living in far-flung areas of the district has been enriching. “These days, the villagers themselves come forward and seek help. Whenever they see our drones, they ask the staff of the PHC and the CHC for some kind of medical help. It means that we are making some impact,” she added.
Pizi, who is a nursing officer at the Bula Camp PHC, joined as medical coordinator of the MFTS and started working from September onwards. She was trained in Seppa itself for the job. She told this daily about her experience of working under the MFTS and narrated a few incidents of how MFTS is benefitting the people.
“Once we received an SOS from the Chayang Tajo PHC for a patient who had a high BP attack. Immediately we swung into action and medicine was delivered within 30 minutes to the PHC in Chyang Tajo from Seppa headquarters. His life was saved due to our intervention,” said Pizi.
In another case, a pregnant woman was saved after the team received an SOS for medicine from the Bula Camp PHC.
As part of MFTS, the Chayang Tajo CHC, the Bameng PHC, the Bana PHC, and the Bula Camp PHC have been enlisted for service.
“Emergency as well as essential medicines, along with vaccines, are delivered to these enlisted hospitals. The blood samples collected from them are sent to the labs of the district hospital in Seppa, and the result is shared with the hospitals concerned through WhatsApp for quick action,” said Pizi.
The schedule of the drone operation is shared with the enlisted hospitals in advance. “Schedule is shared in advance, so that they are prepared in advance. But sometimes we work when they send SOS,” added Pizi.
She further informed that the hospital staffers in the district are still learning how to use this technology. The drone is stationed in Seppa. The MFTS project is being funded by the USAID under its CSR, through the SAMRIDH scheme of IPE Global.
