KATHMANDU, JANUARY 31
The Government of Japan has provided grant assistance to strengthen the vaccine cold chain system in Nepal through the United Nations Children's Fund.
Under its grant, Japan has provided high-quality facilities such as nine walk-incoolers, 38 solar-driven vaccine refrigerators, 1,109 long-range vaccine carriers and 53 cold boxes to ensure effective COVID-19 vaccination roll-out in Nepal.
"These facilities have been delivered throughout Nepal since last year and the delivery of all items of equipment was completed on January 30 this year. The grant also supports human resource development for operation and maintenance of cold chain equipment as well as monitoring for effective management of routine and COVID-19 vaccines by UNICEF," reads a joint press release issued by UNICEF and Embassy of Japan in Nepal today.
"Nepal is currently experiencing the third wave of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant, which makes the vaccine drive one of the top priorities for the Government of Nepal," said Ambassador of Japan to Nepal Kikuta Yutaka. "Appropriate vaccine storage is crucial in the vaccine campaign and this grant aims to drastically increase the capacity for storage and distribution of vaccines across the country."
The provided walk-incoolers are transportable and can be installed relatively quickly and inexpensively, the solar-driven refrigerators help tackle storage issues faced by regions with unstable electricity, and the carriers and boxes enable vaccine distribution to communities unreachable by a vehicle.
"I hope this grant can expedite the process of reaching every person waiting for the vaccine, and I sincerely hope the people of Nepal regain normal, safe days, overcoming the challenges of COVID pandemic as soon as possible," added Yutaka.
"We are grateful to the Government of Japan for its continued support to Nepal in critical efforts to safely and effectively deliver and store vaccines across the country, particularly at a time when Nepal is battling high numbers of COVID-19 infections during the current wave," said Elke Wisch, UNICEF Representative in Nepal. "The cold chain equipment provided through Japan's generous support will not only support the Government of Nepal's current COVID vaccination drive, but also reinforce critical routine immunisation services to protect children against main childhood diseases. A strengthened vaccination system will further contribute to ensuring that the health system is robust enough in case of future crises, so that children, families, and communities in Nepal can be protected."
A version of this article appears in the print on February 1, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
