Giving Compass' Take:

• +SocialGood explores the use of drones to assist in humanitarian aid missions, including quicker deliveries, aerial monitoring and mapping better routes.

• With the United Nations exploring greater use of such technology, it's worth looking at how we can support more innovations in the international outreach sector.

• Here are 10 more genius tech ideas that National Geographic thinks could change the world.

The United Nations has supported the testing of drones for development. For example, UNICEF partnered with the Malawian government to launch Africa’s first humanitarian drone testing corridor, where they tested how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can help to generate maps to monitor disasters and crises, extend Wi-Fi or cellphone signals, and assist in the transport of important supplies. This type of experimentation has lead to the implementation of many innovative drone programs, including:

Delivering Materials

Delivering aid and other development materials can be costly, time intensive, and dangerous  —  especially during times of conflict or crisis. Drones are being utilized by UN agencies and other organizations to deliver materials such as vaccines, contraception, and humanitarian aid. UAVs reduce the time it takes to deliver these items, for example, a journey “from an urban center to a rural location that used to take two days now takes 30 minutes.” The increased pace and accessibility of delivery can mean more lives saved.

Mapping and Monitoring

In addition to delivering life-saving aid, drones are also being used to monitor crises by capturing images and video from the skies. This new data is then fed to organizations to help them find safe routes for disaster response, design more effective development programs, and to identify and monitor new or ongoing crises. For example, drones are delivering information that helps World Food Program (WFP) to lower the amount of time needed to understand the impact of disaster, enabling them to respond to hunger more quickly and effectively.

Read the full article about how drones are supporting the SDGs by Annie Rosenthal  at +SocialGood.