Japan and UNICEF boost vaccine storage capacity in Indonesia

JAKARTA, 26 June 2022 – The Government of Japan and UNICEF today delivered 300 vaccine refrigerators to the Ministry of Health to support the storage and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.

The vaccine refrigerators will be delivered to 34 vaccine storage centres in 7 provinces and 27 districts to increase their storage capacity.

The donation is part of Japan’s broader efforts to support Indonesia’s ongoing campaign to immunize 234.6 million people against COVID-19.

“Ensuring COVID-19 vaccination throughout the nation is a challenge for Indonesia as it is a vast archipelagic country," said Kanasugi Kenji, Ambassador of Japan to Indonesia. "The provision of 300 vaccine refrigerators today, in partnership with UNICEF, is part of Japan's "Last One Mile Support" for Indonesia's vaccination efforts in every corner of the country. This high quality cold chain equipment will help vulnerable populations to get vaccinated and contribute to the enhancement of the health system in Indonesia.”   

The Government of Japan has committed to provide Indonesia with a range of cold chain equipment, including 50 walk-in cold rooms for safe storage of vaccines and remote temperature monitoring devices to ensure vaccines are kept at the correct temperature.

Japan will also support training of government staff and healthcare professionals to operate and maintain the cold chain equipment.

“With Japan’s support, more vaccines can be safely and equitably distributed across Indonesia to improve access to COVID-19 vaccines for children and their families,” said UNICEF Representative a.i. Robert Gass. “Since the onset of COVID-19, Japan has been an invaluable partner in efforts to address the pandemic’s impact on children, including the most vulnerable.”

Japan has been supporting UNICEF to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s education, health and well-being in Indonesia. This includes the Safe Return to Learning programme which addressed learning, health, psychosocial and water, sanitation and hygiene needs of children in Papua and South Sulawesi provinces, as well as a programme in South Sulawesi, Papua, and East Nusa Tenggara provinces designed to assist vulnerable children aged 5-8 to safely access early childhood development services.

# # #

For more information, please contact:

UNICEF: Kinanti Pinta Karana, Email: kpkarana@unicef.org. Mobile: +62-815-880-5842

Embassy of Japan: Yusuke Nakao, Email: yusuke.nakao@mofa.go.jp. TEL: (+62-21)31924308