Pakistan to advance cold chain equipment for vaccine storage

Islamabad

Members of the National Inter-Agency Coordination Committee (NICC) for Routine Immunization Thursday endorsed the application for cold chain optimisation platform. The application aims to enhance the capacity of the cold chain equipment in the country.

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) has introduced a new Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Platform window. The initiative will help countries improve the efficiency and safety of vaccines by increasing cold chain equipment’s operating time, reducing running costs, and improving temperature control.

Pakistan is also applying through this platform where 65 districts will be prioritized in the first phase for the expansion of cold chain capacity inclusive of 13 districts of Balochistan. Over 15,000 ice-lined refrigerators and solar-driven refrigerators will be distributed to districts.  The meeting was held under the chairmanship of minister of state for health Saira Afzal Tarar who underscored the need to strictly control vaccine wastages by plugging the gaps in cold chain capacity. Secretary and director general of health, provincial officials, and development partners and civil society representatives also attended the meeting.