I am writing to highlight our concerns following the recent announcement made by Sir Keir Starmer in regards to the reduction in the UK’s international aid budget and specifically to the UK Governments contributions to international vaccination programmes.
Dulas Ltd is a renewable energy company with headquarters based in Mid- Wales and a manufacturing facility in West Sussex. We are an SME with a turnover of around £13m of which around £7m is generated from sales and exports of our solar powered vaccine refrigerator, a key product in the vaccine cold chain. Dulas employs around 100 individuals within the Group.
Dulas are the only UK-manufacturer of World Health Organisation accredited off-grid solar powered vaccine refrigerators and are global leaders and experts in renewables and refrigeration for the international humanitarian aid market.
Between 2020-2024 we exported and installed over 6000 fridges to countries including Nigeria, Yemen, Uganda, Sudan, Venezuela, Cameroon, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Paraguay, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Lebanon, Gaza, Angola and more.
The fact that our refrigerators are solar-powered means we can deliver vaccines to the world’s most remote communities, where there is little to no access to mains electricity. Working with our in-country partners, Dulas is able to deliver and install our refrigerators in some of the hardest to reach areas in the world.
The funding for many of our projects comes from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, whose ambition is to eradicate common childhood illnesses. The UK is one of Gavis founding donors and has contributed more than £2bn in funding over the last four years, contributing significantly to the success of vaccinating over 1 billion children.
As a UK company we are extremely proud of our contribution to this effort.
As well as the important part we play in the global vaccine cold chain we also provide clean energy jobs within the UK, are a key manufacturer for specialist medical and scientific equipment (produced entirely at our factory) , have successful partnerships with Innovate UK (via a Knowledge Transfer Partnership) and are supported by UK Export Finance via a General Export Facility loan.
We urge the government to continue to prioritise funding towards global vaccination programmes for routine childhood illnesses. The Vaccine Alliance has vaccinated over 1.1 billion children and prevented nearly 18 million deaths, making it one of the most cost-effective global health programs. Every 97 pence in every pound it is given goes on vaccination programmes.
We have included two case studies to highlight the impact of our work including a recent deployment of 280 fridges in Angola (supported by USAid funding) and an overview of our work in Yemen. These projects would not have happened without UK and other government commitments.
If you would like to learn more about our work we would welcome a visit to our factory in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.
Signed:
Managing Director, Dulas Ltd
Contact: ruth.chapman@dulas.org.uk / betty.freeman@dulas.org.uk
Dulas refrigerators extending access to healthcare across Angola
