As part of the JICA-UNICEF project to strengthen the Lao PDR’s cold chain capacity, new walk-in cold rooms have been installed in Vientiane to help the country store more vaccines.
(KPL) On Jun 29, JICA officially handed over a new state-of-the-art cold chain facility to the Ministry of Health of the Lao PDR, in partnership with UNICEF.
This new facility will further boost the Lao PDR’s vaccine storage capacity by an additional 16,000 litres – around 5 million doses of a variety of vaccines.
Presiding over the event was Minister for Health Bounfeng Phoummalaysith, Ambassador of Japan to the Lao PDR Kenichi Kobayashi, and UNICEF Lao PDR Representative Pia Rebello Britto.
Two new walk-in cold rooms were recently installed at a central warehouse in Vientiane to help safely store and distribute vaccines.
Vaccines must be continuously stored in a limited temperature range – from the time they are manufactured until the moment of vaccination. This is because temperatures that are too high or too low can cause the vaccine to lose its ability to protect against disease.
“I thank JICA and UNICEF for their generous support in installing this important facility. The new walk-in cold rooms represent another key milestone in strengthening the Lao PDR’s cold chain system,” said Minister of HealthBounfeng Phoummalaysith.
JICA previously supported the Ministry of Health with a supply of 54 refrigerators/cold chain equipment in 2022, which were procured through UNICEF and have already been distributed across various provinces.
However, following a thorough cold chain needs assessment by the Ministry of Health, a recommendation was put forward to bolster the central-level vaccine storage capacity using newly introduced walk-in cold rooms.
“The people of Japan are proud to support the Lao PDR with these new facilities, which will contribute towards enhancing the effectiveness of the national immunisation programme and ensure more people have access to vaccination,” said Mr. Kenichi Kobayashi, Ambassador of Japan to the Lao PDR.
In addition to the walk-in cold rooms, the support from JICA included remote temperature monitoring devices for the cold rooms and refurbishment of the cold room site among others, which has a total combined value of nearly US$180,000.
“UNICEF greatly appreciates JICA’s significant contribution towards bolstering immunization in the Lao PDR,” stated UNICEF Representative to Lao PDR Pia Rebello Britto. “These new facilities underline the enduring partnership between Japan and the Lao PDR. At a time when we are seeing vaccination rates decline, this support should act as a shot in the arm for bringing vaccination rates back on track. It is an honour for UNICEF to be a participant in this latest endeavor which will help save young lives across the country.”
Source: Lao News Agency
