SAN FRANCISCO — PATH, a nonprofit global health organization, wanted to test the use of unmanned aerial systems, or UAS, in Senegal.
The plan was to determine whether drones could deliver medical supplies between regular stock deliveries, as well as urgently needed supplies such as blood, and retrieve lab samples, said Joanie Robertson, a senior program officer leading PATH’s work on drone technology for health supply chains.
But the drone manufacturer the donor selected for the project was not able to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the drone to the regulatory agency, so PATH was not able to move forward with the project.