New Cooler Development In India Could Benefit Country's Cold Chain
A new cooler recently developed in India could become an important player in the Indian cold chain, the Times Of India says. Ashutosh Biltharia, a graduate of the National Institute of Design (NID), has created a new, portable vaccine cooler to be used for “last mile connectivity in the cold chain.” Industry experts believe that the cooler has the potential to challenge other modern equipment being used for delivering vaccines in India. The product is expected to be patented soon. Biltharia’s research has found that 6,300 vaccine carriers are being used in Ahmedabad alone.
Dr. Nayan Jani, a state immunization officer in India, said that equipment plays an invaluable role in the way that vaccines are transported across the country. It can be difficult to keep vaccines at the correct cold temperature as they are delivered to remote parts of the country. “Vaccines are carried to 12-15 villages each day, with the help of vaccine carriers. Those vaccines that are not used stay on the field for eight hours. So a robust vaccine carrier plays a crucial role in the cold chain,” said Jani. If the transportation process is broken or if vaccines cannot maintain the correct temperature, effectiveness rates can drop and diseases might become more infectious.
The Union ministry of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) funded the project. The cooler was designed to be light and easy to carry. The cooler, which contains ice packs, ensures that vaccines encased in the cooler will be maintained at temperatures between 2 and 8 degrees C.
“The design of the cooler for packaging vaccines inside it has been done in such a way that it can accommodate maximum number of vials at a time. Usability issues during transportation and in vaccination sites have also been addressed,” said Biltharia.
India is facing what the Times Of India calls a “cold chain challenge.” The country has one of the largest Universal Immunization Programs in the world, based on the quantity of vaccines used, the number of people covered by vaccines, the geographical spread, and the number of workers needed to distribute treatment.