Making a difference

Helping to deliver immunisation initiatives in Togo

Towards the end of 2023, our Solar International team was delighted to complete the roll-out of 245 VC60SDD Solar Direct Drive refrigerators to health centres across Togo. This was part of a joint immunisation initiative being delivered by Togo’s Ministry of Health and the World Bank. Dulas worked with in-country service partner, BEMISS, to ensure that cold chain equipment, vital to keep vaccines safe and effective, was delivered and installed in health centres across all five states of the country.

The BEMISS installation team

A history of working with Togo

Togo is one of the world’s poorest countries, with just over 81% of its rural population below the poverty line. The provision of healthcare is challenging, particularly in remote areas, and diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis still pose a significant risk. However, the Ministry of Health is committed to combatting preventable childhood diseases and delivering vaccines across all parts of the country. Dulas has supported immunisation initiatives in Togo before, working alongside the Ministry of Health to provide reliable solar powered vaccine refrigerators. Once installed in remote communities, Dulas cold chain equipment helps to support vital immunisation programmes, improving lives for generations to come.

A trusted solution for outreach vaccination programmes

Dulas VC60SDD: Solar Direct Drive Refrigerator & Freezer

57L

Vaccine storage capacity

23

The ability to freeze
23 x 0.6L water packs

4 days

Maintains vaccines at a stable
temperature for up to 4 days

The WHO PQS-accredited VC60SDD is the perfect solution for health centres needing to undertake outreach activities. As well as the ability to freeze 23x 0.6 litre water packs for outreach work in the field, it has a large vaccine storage capacity of 57 litres.

The VC60SDD features Freeze-Free® technology, ensuring that vaccines stored in the refrigerator are never exposed to harmful freezing temperatures. It also has advanced autonomy and holdover rates, which means that it can maintain vaccines at a safe temperature for up to 4 days. Each refrigerator is integrated with ICE3, a remote temperature monitoring device which enables users to accurately monitor the temperature of their refrigerators from a phone or computer anywhere in the world. The ICE3 technology sends an alert via SMS or email to cold chain technicians should the temperature deviate outside the specified range, ensuring that vaccines are kept safe and effective at all times.

Transportation in challenging conditions

For this project, the equipment had to be transported during the monsoon season, and heavy rainfall led to flooding which left some roads impassable. This required some logistical innovation from Dulas’s in-country partners, who efficiently and professionally found solutions to keep the project delivery and installation on track.

Installation and training

Despite the challenges, all refrigerators were delivered and installed on time, bar two which had to wait for ongoing building work at the health centres to be completed. Even these were completed in the two weeks following the deadline, a very satisfactory outcome for all involved. In each case, the installation team carried out a thorough functionality checklist to review the installation and make sure that the refrigerators were working correctly. They then provided dedicated user training to health centre staff to ensure that they carry out the weekly, monthly and six-monthly tasks required to guarantee that even the most remote communities have access to life-saving vaccines for years to come.

A health centre worker completing user training with a Dulas partner

“

Training is of utmost importance to ensure the successful roll-out of immunisation campaigns. At Dulas, we’re committed not only to supplying vital cold chain equipment, but also to making sure that it is installed by highly trained technicians and that necessary training is provided to support the project and safeguard the long life of the equipment.

Claire Toland
Project Manager, Dulas Solar International