New Cold Storage Facility Established In Fiji

A new cold storage facility for holding vaccines has been established in the Fiji city of Nadi. The facility is based at Yee’s Cold Storage and will hold drugs for 12 pacific island countries, including the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Niue, Nauru, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Vaccines for Fiji are stored at Fiji Pharmaceutical Services in Suva.

This is the first time that the Pacific has had a regional cold storage facility for vaccines. Before the cold storage facility was established, vaccines had to be imported with frozen produce. This new facility was donated by New Zealand.

The 12 pacific nations partnered with the UNICEF in order to obtain the vaccines, which were procured through the vaccine Independence Initiative (VII). Through this initiative, which was funded by donations from the U.S., New Zealand, and Japanese governments, UNICEF was able to acquire WHO-certified vaccines at a lowered, bulk rate and ship them to the Pacific.

Dr. Karen Allen, the UNICEF Pacific Representative, released a statement on the matter expressing how important the cold chain process is in bringing vaccines safely to patients. “Vaccines are less effective or spoilt if they are not maintained at the right temperature. The cold chain is the process used to maintain ideal conditions during the transport, storage, and handling of vaccines, starting at the manufacturer and ending with the administration of the vaccine to the client,” said Allen.

Dr. Allen went on to thank the New Zealand government, saying that the facility will allow vaccines to keep their potency as they travel across the Pacific to their destination. “I’m sure all Pacific Island Countries, health workers, parents and caregivers, are just as appreciative as UNICEF for this storage facility,” said Allen. “A child who is not immunized is more likely to be sick, disabled, undernourished or could possibly die. Vaccines protect individuals and populations against diseases such as measles, meningitis, polio, tuberculosis, pneumonia and tetanus.”