Strengthening cold chain systems for vaccination: Ambassador of Japan and UNICEF representative visit a public health center

Algiers, April 13^th, 2023 - The Ambassador of Japan to Algeria, His Excellency Mr. KONO Akira and the UNICEF Representative in Algeria, Ms. Katarina Johansson visited Thursday, April 13rd in Algiers a public health center equipped with a cold room in the scope of the partnership with the Algerian authorities for the reinforcement of cold chain systems.

The EPSP of Dergana has been equipped with a cold room with a capacity of 10 m3 as part of the Japanese government's support to strengthen the cold chain system for the successful deployment of COVID-19 vaccination in Algeria, in partnership with UNICEF Algeria and the Ministry of Health.  This cooperation has been capitalized beyond the Covid-19 response, as this equipment now allows for better management of all vaccination operations in the region.

Accompanied by the Sub-Director of Prevalent Disease Control and Health Alert at the General Directorate of Prevention and Health promotion of Ministry of Health, Dr. Hadj Mati Khalil Reda, the delegation heard a presentation from Dergana health staff on regular immunization and the trend towards COVID-19 immunization, as well as on the added value of the installed cold room.

Dr. Hadj Mati Khalil Reda gave a general presentation on Algeria's achievements in immunization, including its obligatory and free character as well as the progress of the electronic immunization record project.

Addressing the UNICEF Representative and the Japanese Ambassador, the responsible at Health Ministry also said: "We are delighted that you are both here to see  very firsthand that collaboration between international organizations and the Ministry of Health directly benefits the local population. The support you have provided has satisfied the health staff in terms of training and ease of work, but also our population, who are the most important to us, and who benefit from quality healthcare. We thank you for your collaboration and we hope to develop other partnerships very soon.”

At the end of the visit, UNICEF Representative in Algeria, Ms. Katarina Johansson said:  " I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for this visit. We were able to see the impact and importance of the strong partnership we have with the Algerian government. Today we have a new cooperation framework for the next few years with, among other things, a new and important axe which is Health and Nutrition. I also thank Japan for its contribution and valuable support to UNICEF.”

The Japanese Ambassador, Mr. KONO Akira, meanwhile, stated: "I appreciate the Ministry of Health and UNICEF for their continuous efforts in this project. I am so pleased that Japan's support has borne fruit in an excellent way with the introduction of a facility that is important for the health of all Algerian citizens. I hope that these facilities continue to be important centers for the protection of people's health in each region".

As a background, UNICEF has worked closely with the Ministry of Health to support the strengthening of the Expanded Programme on Immunization through the procurement of additional cold chain equipment and the training of health professionals on cold chain system management and in-depth oxygen handling at the national and local levels.

Since April 2021, the Government of Japan has supported measures to control COVID-19 infection through the partnership between the Ministry of Health and UNICEF. This support has included a one-year contribution from the Government of Japan to UNICEF for strengthening national cold chain.

Key achievements under the current UNICEF-Government of Japan Partnership programme  includes the completion and publication of the first manual on cold chain system management and the training of 213 health managers and administrators from various backgrounds (medical doctors, vaccinators, etc.); procurement of cold chain equipment (CCE) that benefitted nearly 100 health facilities meeting the requirements for COVID-19 and routine vaccines with innovative real time monitoring devices, in line with Japan’s “Last One Mile Support” for delivering vaccine to the final destination.