The Health Ministry has received five vehicles and equipment from the Japanese Government and UNICEF that is expected to boost routine vaccination efforts for more than 80,000 children in the country.
The equipment include cold chain equipment including 15 solar refrigerators with health kits, 25 cold boxes, 120 vaccine carriers, 500 fridge tags, five vehicles including a refrigerated vehicle.
A walk-in cooler is expected to be delivered over the next few months while 30 ice lined refrigerators and 15 freezers have already been distributed and installed in health facilities.
Minister for Health, Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccination throughout the pandemic is a great lesson in the effective use of vaccination to prevent severe disease and death.
He says vaccines are the most safest method for protecting our children from life threatening diseases and is also estimated to be one of the most cost effective means of advancing global welfare.
The Minister says vaccination saves about 5 lives every minute globally and prevention of up to 3 million deaths a year.
Dr. Waqainabete has also acknowledged the hard working frontliners in getting people vaccinated.
The Japanese Ambassador to Fiji, Kawakami Fumihiro says the two cooler trucks worth $374,000 were handed to the Ministry last month and it is encouraging to see such vehicular resources making meaningful contributions for Fiji’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
