Disease research gets 349 vaccine fridges
Published On March 29, 2015 » 1720 Views» By Davies M.M Chanda » Features
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By MIRIAM ZIMBA –
THE Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) with support from ELMA Philanthropies has procured 349 units of vaccine fridges to be handed over to various health centres across the country.
According to a media statement made available to Times Health by CICRZ head of communications Cheri Reid, CIDRZ handed over 77 electrical fridges for district health offices, 91 electrical fridges to health facilities, and an additional 181 solar fridges to other health centres.
Times HealthAmong other items handed over, includes 50 units of cold boxes and 50 units of vaccine carriers with two 15 tonne Mitsubishi trucks.
‘The vaccine fridges, cold boxes and vaccine carriers will be distributed to Luapula, Muchinga, Northern, Eastern, Central and Lusaka provinces starting April 2015,’ the statement reads in part.
The two trucks will be used by the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health, under its Child Health Unit, in the distribution of vaccines to the provinces.
The cold boxes and vaccine carriers are necessary for delivering vaccines to the next level of care while vaccine carriers remain essential in immunisation outreach activities, including child health weeks and the taking of vaccines to hard-to-reach areas.
According to CIDRZ, this programme is part of its broader one  for Awareness and Elimination of Diarrhoea (PEAD) which aims at contributing to the reduction of under-five mortality in Zambia.
‘The goal is to contribute to the improvement of access to all eligible children to new and under utilised vaccines, as well as traditional ones, through a strengthened national immunisation programme,’ the statement adds.
Ultimately, this should be able to contribute towards increasing the vaccine coverage rates in the country.
Other efforts by the  programme includes,  training of 20 trainers of trainers in two per province, and 103 cold chain technicians in solar installation, maintenance and repair.
‘This will ensure that the vaccine fridges are installed as soon as they are delivered to the facilities,  maintenance will be done to increase their life span, and the repair will done immediately to
avoid a break in the vaccine supply chain,’ said the statement.”
CIDRZ has also refurbished the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health National Cold Chain Workshop based at the Child Health Unit.
This workshop is used by the ministry to provide a hands-on training to cold chain technicians in the repair of the vaccine fridges.

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