Handover Ceremony of Cold Chain Equipment to Strengthen Vaccine Delivery in Zambia through UNICEF
2022/3/11
On 4th March 2022, H.E. Mr. MIZUUCHI Ryuta, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of the Republic of Zambia, under an emergency partnership with UNICEF, officially handed over cold chain equipment to Dr. George Mangwende, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, who represented Hon. Silvia Masebo, Minister of Health. The cold chain equipment will strengthen the long-term capacity of the health system in Zambia, including the delivery of life-saving vaccines for COVID-19.
In total, the support includes 82 solar-powered fridge-freezers (5 x 70 litre, 14 x 35 litre, 63 x 16 litre), 25 ‘on-grid’ combo vaccine freezers, 120 large vaccine cold boxes and 200 vaccine carriers, some of which are already in use.
“Japan is supporting Zambia and other African countries in their fight against COVID-19 through, inter alia, the supply of vaccines via the COVAX facility and the establishment of cold chains. I hope the delivery of relevant equipment this time will accelerate the efforts by the Zambian Government to achieve its goal of 70% of eligible population fully vaccinated. As always, the cooperation by population and community plays a vital role to protect themselves and the loved ones, which I hope, will be practiced with the support of wide range of stakeholders across the country,” said Ambassador MIZUUCHI.
The Government of Japan has already contributed more than 200 million US Dollars to the global COVAX Facility, an international mechanism led by Gavi(the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations), CEPI(Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations), the World Health Organisation and UNICEF to ensure and accelerate equitable access to vaccines across the developing world. In addition, on 2nd June 2021, the Government of Japan co-hosted the COVAX AMC (Advance Market Commitment) Summit and announced an additional contribution of 800 million US Dollars, bringing the total contribution of 1 billion US Dollars to the COVAX AMC.
To read the speech by Ambassador MIZUUCHI at this ceremony, please click here.
