Health Workers at Daru General Hospital have been relieved of vaccine storage concerns, thanks to a new solar-powered vaccine fridge donated by the Digicel Foundation and installed by MAF Technologies, strengthening immunisation efforts for remote communities.
Story by Kowara Bell
The largest province of Papua New Guinea, Western Province, presents unique challenges for its people. With its vast landmass covered with rivers and swamps, long river journeys are often the only way people can deliver essential medical services such as vaccination.
Acting Family Health Service Coordinator for Western Provincial Health Authority, Sylvia Wukawa, knows that the challenge of delivering vaccines begins with storage.
“We often struggle to store the vaccines properly. Storage is important in maintaining the cold chain and delivering vaccines safely to our remote communities,” she said.
“It is one of the biggest challenges of Western Provincial Health Authority, especially in our rural health facilities, due to difficult terrain and unreliable power supply.”
Chris Sana Warege, Provincial Pharmacist of Western Provincial Health Authority, echoed the sentiment.
“It has been a struggle to store vaccines safely before distributing them to smaller health facilities across the communities,” he said.
“Most of our health facilities need a reliable vaccine fridge with enough space and consistent cooling systems to safely store vaccines for a long period.”
Chris stated that the installation of the solar vaccine fridge was timely, and the fridge directly powered by solar energy has helped them solve the long-standing issues they have been facing with unreliable power from the local grid.
Technician Steven Zato travelled to Daru from MAF Technologies’ base in the Eastern Highlands to carry out the installation. The purpose-built appliance uses solar-generated electricity to create ice, which then keeps the fridge at low temperature throughout the dark night, before again using electricity from the sun to cool the vaccines. The fridge maintains a steady 4 to 6 degrees Celsius.
However, unboxing the fridge was the least complex part of the task. Steven also had to affix solar panels to the hospital roof, drilling through rooftops and walls to run cables, and then monitor the vaccine fridge’s temperature for two to three days to ensure it was running correctly.
“We believe that the solar system powering the fridge is the solution,” said Bryan Mathews, General Manager for MAF Technologies, stressing the crucial role reliable energy plays in remotest parts of the nation.
“In order to store vaccines on site, to ensure their expiry dates remain valid, and to keep them at the correct temperature to extend their shelf life, a consistent electricity supply is needed to power the vaccine fridge,” Bryan added.
The Western Provincial Health Authority team thanked the Digicel Foundation and MAF Technologies for meeting a crucial need in the province, saying it was ‘a very big need’ and they are excited to utilise the equipment to meet the needs of the people of Daru.