Healthcare facilities in Odeska oblast received over 350 vaccine refrigerators and freezers
To help the Government of Ukraine, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) continues to supply vaccines and upgrade the cold chain
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UNICEF has procured and delivered 5,168 vaccine refrigerators and freezers with temperature loggers to primary healthcare facilities across Ukraine, within the framework of cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and using funds provided by the World Bank. Of these, 351 have been provided to facilities in Odeska oblast. Since vaccines must be kept at a specific temperature from +2 to +8 °C and disruption of the cold chain can affect their effectiveness, the vaccine refrigerators come at a crucial time, as many parts of Ukraine, including the Odeska region experience energy blackouts.
"The Odeska region was experiencing blackouts for a while,” says Yulia, the head nurse at the Children's Polyclinic № 4 in Odesa. “The refrigeration units provided by UNICEF enable a cold chain for safe storage of vaccines. They maintain the required temperature for a long time without power.”
Polyclinic №4 provides care to more than 17,000 children – including 560 internally displaced children added to the medical register since the start of the war. Yulia has been working here for 10 years and says that the refrigerators have made the facility's work easier. With the help of the refrigerators, children can be vaccinated against tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough and COVID-19.
"The new refrigeration units with continuous temperature monitoring devices allow vaccines for children to be stored for up to 55 hours, in case of power outages and worst-case scenarios,” says Natalia, the director of Odesa City Children's Polyclinic №4. “Until now, it has been more difficult because we relied on smaller, less powerful batteries that did not keep the cold for as long.”
"The refrigerators delivered to the polyclinic help preserve the integrity of the medications and ensure timely and high-quality vaccination of children, according to the international recommendations," says Ivan Zhuravlov, a UNICEF Health Officer in Odesa. He explains that medical facilities receiving the cold chain equipment provide large numbers of children and adults with routine vaccinations and immunisation against COVID-19.
