How could Africa use solar technology to distribute Covid-19 vaccines

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Even if enough vaccines are provided, there is a huge logistical challenge: how to transport temperature-sensitive vaccines to places without reliable electricity and refrigeration.

The answer is in the development of a “cold chain” – a network of vehicles, refrigerators and cold rooms – that can be used to transport the vaccine smoothly from the manufacturer to the point of immunization.

“We knew we would have to move billions of vaccines around the world to rural communities and that we would need a temperature-controlled environment,” he added.

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The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine should be kept at minus 75 degrees Celsius (minus 103 degrees Fahrenheit), while Moderna can be kept at minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit).

These temperature requirements will not be within the reach of most African countries, says Peters, but options such as the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, which can be stored at standard refrigerated temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit), will be more feasible.

Even so, existing cold chain networks will not be enough. Without new technology, up to 25 percent of the vaccine supply could be lost, Peters says.

Solar energy cooling

There are almost 600 million people in Africa living outside the network, and rural clinics often do not have a network connection.

This is where solar energy comes in, says Hugh Whalan, CEO of PEG Africa, a company that provides pay-as-you-go solar products to people in West Africa.

In preparation for a Covid-19 vaccination action, the company – funded by Power Africa, a network of private and public groups set up by USAid – began supplying solar energy systems to off-grid health clinics.

The supply of solar energy for out-of-grid clinics allows refrigeration as well as other medical procedures.

“Refrigerators need energy to function reliably to store vaccines safely, otherwise they will break down. So we provide the power,” he told CNN.

Previously, PEG Africa’s refrigeration efforts have focused on establishing a cold chain for food, helping production to reach the market without spoiling. It is currently testing pay-as-you-go solar freezers among fishermen in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Senegal.

When the pilot is completed in the middle of this year, Whalan hopes to use the same funding and distribution infrastructure to launch solar-powered refrigerators and freezers in health clinics and immunization points.

Of the two refrigeration suppliers PEG Africa works with, one has already received the Performance, Quality and Safety (PQS) certification from the World Health Organization, and the other is being procured.

Reaching the last mile

Before a vaccine can be given to someone, they usually have to travel from the manufacturer to an airport, a national vaccine store, a provincial vaccine store, a local health center, and finally to a local health center. the final place where he is patiently given.

“Last mile is the biggest challenge and that’s the biggest gap,” says Peters.

With an extremely portable solution, Gricd hopes to distribute vaccines to remote and disadvantaged communities.

Gricd, a small Nigerian startup, hopes to help complete this goal. Build cold boxes powered by solar energy to transport the vaccine, which can be kept at minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) and can be remotely controlled and monitored in real time.

The company says it worked with the National Center for Disease Control in Nigeria and the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research during the pandemic, helping to collect and transport Covid-19 test specimens from remote areas. He has also partnered with private healthcare companies in South Africa, Ghana and Egypt, says Oghenetega Iortim, the company’s founder.

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The size of the boxes varies from 15 to 100 liters, the smallest being able to carry about 200 doses of vaccine. The 15-liter box is specially designed for the “last kilometer” – the final stage of the journey.

“It could fit into any existing means of transportation, whether it’s a boat, the back of a motorcycle, a bicycle or the back of a person,” says Iortim.

Because it discharges solar-powered batteries – which maintain a stable internal temperature for up to a week – they are suitable for areas that are not connected to the grid, he adds.

They also contain a device that monitors location, humidity and temperature and transmits this data to the distributor in real time.

Powered by the sun, Gricd cold boxes can be used in areas that are not connected to the network.

“It alerts you if something goes wrong – if the temperature drops suddenly or if there is an interruption – and you can take proactive steps to make sure the vaccines don’t lose their potency,” says Iortim.

While Gricd products have not yet received PQS certification from the WHO, Iortim says cold boxes are in the process of being certified. He adds that the product has been certified by the Standards Organization of Nigeria.

Vaccination on an unprecedented scale

This is not the first time Africa has faced the logistical challenges of vaccination. For example, there have been actions of mass immunization of children, as well as the distribution of the vaccine for Ebola and other diseases.

But they focused on certain geographic areas or specific parts of the population, says Peters.

“What we haven’t done so far is try to vaccinate the whole world as soon as possible,” he says.

He hopes that cold chain innovations for Covid-19 could produce wider long-term benefits and be applied to both food and health.

“As we come to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in new equipment … are we designing a system to solve a problem today or are we designing a system that has a lasting legacy?” he says.

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