Dulas has been delivering training as part of its refrigerator supply for 25 years. In June of this year, the Solar International team led a five-day training programme in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s capital city, for Ministry of Health technicians.
The training was delivered as part of Dulas’ supply package of 25 WHO-accredited VC200SDD vaccine refrigerators, with the objective of educating local health workers on the importance of cold chain storage for vaccines, and to empower technicians with the ability to safely and effectively install, maintain, and operate the solar powered refrigerators to ensure that vaccines are not exposed to damaging temperatures.
A group of 25 Ministry of Health technicians received the training, and the course content gave participants a thorough grounding in the theoretical and practical aspects of Solar Direct drive refrigeration installation, operation, maintenance, fault finding and repair. This included knowledge and experience of electrical testing, PV solar arrays, refrigeration and an awareness of the necessary conditions to safely store vaccines.
The course emphasised the importance of generating as much energy as possible, especially in cloudy weather and operating and maintaining the fridge to use as little energy as possible. This combination leads to a very reliable approach to vaccine storage.
The participants came from a wide range of backgrounds with varying levels of previous experience, some with experience in electrical installation and cold chain administration, and only a few with previous experience with refrigeration. The course was structured to ensure that even those with no prior experience earned a broad understanding of all the issues, and came away with first-hand practical experience of all the stages required.
As a result of the training, all participants are equipped with the required training to operate and maintain the vaccine refrigerators Dulas provided, both in installation and after-care.
As well as an understanding of the technical elements of the Dulas VCSDD range, the training has armed health technicians with new skills and knowledge that can be applied across all their work at the Ministry of Health.
Further training sessions are planned for Nigeria before the end of 2017, but if you’d like to book a training visit from the team, please do get in touch.
