Speaking at the handover ceremony on June 29, Dr. Myat Htoo Razak, USAID Senior Advisor for Global Health Security, said: “USAID and the U.S. Government are proud to continue working closely with the Government and people of Vietnam to address the country’s and the world’s most pressing infectious disease challenges. USAID is pleased to join one of our valued partners, UNICEF and the Ministry of Health, in recognizing our longstanding collaboration by providing vaccine refrigerators to 12 provinces and cities to help accelerate equitable access and delivery of safe and effective doses of Covid-19 and other childhood vaccines. We appreciate the cooperation and commitment of the Government of Vietnam, especially the Ministry of Health, and the National Expanded Program on Immunization.”

Representatives of USAID and UNICEF presented a symbolic plaque to donate a vaccine refrigerator. Photo: Thanh Huong

The vaccine refrigerator - HBC-80 - will be delivered to 590 remote communes in 12 provinces in the North and Central of Vietnam. This refrigerator can maintain cold conditions for vaccines that need to be stored at a temperature range of +2°C to +8°C, the temperature range required to store most vaccines in the Expanded Program on Immunization. With a storage capacity of 61L, each refrigerator will be able to store enough doses of vaccines for routine and Covid-19 vaccination in the communes.

According to Mr. Maharajan Muthu, Chief of Child Survival and Development at UNICEF Viet Nam: This support is crucial to ensure that vaccines are safely stored and distributed at the commune level, enabling children to receive their immunizations as soon as they are due – instead of waiting to collect vaccines from a higher-level vaccine storage facility further away. This is especially important at this time, when Viet Nam, with UNICEF’s support to secure supplies of pentavalent vaccines, is working to increase routine immunization coverage, which has declined significantly during the pandemic. “UNICEF is committed to continuing our support to strengthen health systems not only at the national level but also to ensure strong capacity at the grassroots level,” said Mr. Maharajan Muthu.

Representatives of USAID and UNICEF hand over a vaccine refrigerator to a locality. Photo: Thanh Huong

During the Covid-19 pandemic, USAID and UNICEF have worked with the Vietnamese Ministry of Health to conduct communication campaigns to provide useful information to the public and support prevention, control, and response efforts. USAID and UNICEF will continue to support Vietnam in strengthening the capacity of its immunization systems.

LE QUYNH ANH