By Astou Jawara
The Gambia’s Ministry of Health and its partners on Wednesday, 9 February, 2022 inaugurated a newly built Ultra-cold Chain Store at the Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI) complex in Kotu.
As per official version, it could store up to 1.7 million doses of vaccines, as well as the new Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine due to arrive in the country with support from the United States government to the Covax mechanism.
Good storage facilities play a significant role in vaccine preservation because once a vaccine losses its strength, it cannot be restored, thus the need for better storage facilities.
The newly built storage facility consists of six (6) refrigerators- three big and three small ones; and the big refrigerators have the capacity to store up to five hundred thousand (500,000) vaccines, while the small freezers have the capacity to store fifty-six thousand (56,000) each.
Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, the Health Minister, applauded his ministry’s partners for their immense contributions towards the facility, as he told the launch gathering “this ultra-cold refrigeration system is going to enable us bring in vaccines that we were not able to bring in initially and probably, losing the benefits or not benefiting from the benefits of those vaccines.โ
“But now, it increases our scope and the Gambians will potentially benefit from the vaccines like Pfizer, Moderna and so on,” he added.
World Bank (WB) Country Representative in The Gambia, Madam Feyi Boroffice, said having the ultra-cold storage facility shows the positive aspect of Covid-19, even though there are negative aspects of the virus.
So far, the World Bank has supported the Gambiaโs health sector with more than 90 million dollars in construction, renovation and equipment, amongst others, disclosed the WB top official in the country.
Speaking at the event, the UNICEF Country Representative, Mr. Lewis Jonathan, underscored the importance of the ultra-cold storage, adding that with the availability of the vaccines, more are expected in the country soon.
โWe will be in position to receive the countryโs first-ever consignment of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines which have been donated by the United States Government to the Covax mechanismโ, he told the gathering. He noted a critical step was to ensure that the vaccines are safe, pointing out also that “there will be a combination of 2.1000 cubic litres of space that can store up to 1.7 million vaccines”.
Dr. Desta Tiruneh is the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Country Representative to The Gambia, and he believes now that the equipment is available, it would give them an opportunity to get all the varieties of vaccines.
Moreover, Dr. Tiruneh held, this could only be achievable if they are able to get everyone vaccinated.
Director Modou Njai of the Health Promotion and Education Directorate at the Ministry of Health, highlighted the progress in their strive to get 60% of the country’s population vaccinated.
โWe want people to take the [Covid] vaccines, and let them not think negatively about the vaccinesโ, he urged. He also used the moment to reassure the public that the vaccines are safe and effective.
Njai further urged all Gambians to come out and get vaccinated to help curb the spread of Covid-19, reassuring that people who had taken the Covid vaccines “are still alive”.
