During this year’s Hajj, which is a special religious pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, something new and exciting happened. The Saudi Post (SPL) and the Ministry of Health tried out a really cool idea using drones. These drones were used to transport blood to places where it was needed, like medical emergencies, in the holy areas where the pilgrimage was taking place.
This new way of using drones worked really well. It was much faster and more efficient than the old way they used to transport blood. Before, it took about 2.5 hours to get blood to where it was needed, but with the drones, it only took 2 minutes! That’s a huge difference.
The Ministry of Health and Saudi Post worked together on this project. They wanted to make the experience of the pilgrims (the people doing the pilgrimage) better and also make healthcare services faster and better. This is part of a bigger plan called the Pilgrim Experience Program, which is all about making sure the pilgrims have a good time and get the help they need. This plan is also connected to something called the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which is Saudi Arabia’s plan to improve and modernize the country in different ways by the year 2030.
Because this experiment with the drones worked so well, they’re planning to use this idea again in the next Hajj trips. This will help the pilgrims even more, making sure they get the medical help they need quickly and easily. It’s a really exciting use of technology that’s making a big difference for people during this important religious event.
