Background Operational inadequacies in terrestrial transport infrastructure in emerging economies create significant barriers to healthcare access. Medical drones have been proposed as a technological solution to bypass geographic bottlenecks. Objectives This review aims to evaluate the operational outcomes, feasibility and cost- effectiveness of medical drone logistics across low- and middle-income settings. It investigates the comparative advantages of drones versus traditional ground transport in reducing delivery times and facilitating vector-control surveillance. Methods The systematic literature review consisted of a comprehensive search from PubMed for published academic journal articles. Additional databases included Embase, Google Scholar, and Scopus. As inclusion and exclusion criteria, the search strings focused on medical drones and health surveillance studies in the Global South. We used keywords, such as developing countries, low- and middle-income countries. A systematic search and screening process adhering to PRISMA 2020 guidelines identified 11 eligible studies published between 2016 and 2025. Included studies encompassed randomized and non-randomized trials, economic evaluations, and mixed studies. Each included study was evaluated against the relevant Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool criteria to generate a standardized risk of bias score. Results The systematic literature review shows that drones significantly reduce travel times by 50%‒80% compared with ground transport. In vaccine supply chains, drone integration reduced stockouts by 30% and missed vaccination opportunities by 44%. While initial capital costs remain high, recurrent operational costs may be lower than those for motorcycle logistics (0.34 USD vs. 1.40 USD per trip). In vector control, drone-based multispectral imagery can achieve higher accuracy (86%–98%) in identifying larval habitats than manual surveying methods. Conclusions Medical drones represent a significant tool for healthcare delivery in emerging economies, offering higher speed and accessibility. However, their impact on improving patients’ outcomes requires further research. Their integration requires ensuring community acceptance through conditional trust frameworks, and addressing technical limitations related to battery endurance and adverse weather conditions.
Bryant et al. (Mon,) studied this question.