Cold chain handlers, medical officers and district immunization officers often face problems in calculating the cold space required for storing vaccines at the planning unit level. Hence, the volume of each carton is measured and arranged as per the existing guidelines to simplify the theoretical pr...

Diarrheal disease is among the five leading causes of morbidity and mortality among under-five children in Malawi. In the multiple indicator survey conducted in 2006, nearly a quarter (23.3%) of under-five children reported having a diarrhea episode in the previous two weeks. Rotavirus infection con...

India, with 61% fully immunized...

Cross-posted from the CDC website with thanks. In September 2011, CDC initiated a pilot project to test the implementation, using industry barcoding standards, of 2D barcodes on vaccine products. A 2D vaccine barcoding manufacturer's forum was conducted in January 2012 to inform manufacturers an...

Many thanks to Tasnim Partapuri for directing our attention here! UNICEF developed the Meena Communication Initiative (MCI) as a mass communication project aimed at changing perceptions and behaviour that hamper the survival, protection and development of girls in South Asia. Following eight y...

by Ryan McWhorter, Logistimo, and Dan Brigden, PATH To accompany the article “South Sudan deploys new mobile phone-based stock management tool” in this month’s newsletter, project Optimize has published http://www.flickr.com/photos/projectoptimize/sets/72157631611716301/with/8026383968/" target="_b...

An interview with Lisa Ganley-Leal and Pauline Mwinzi, Epsilon Therapeutics Earlier this year, Lisa Ganley-Leal and Pauline Mwinzi were awarded $100,000 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through its Grand Challenges Explorations initiative. They hope to demonstrate that selling vaccines ...

an interview with MIT’s UAV vaccine delivery team Earlier this year, Dr. George Barbastathis and five graduate students—Nikhil Vadhavkar, Adam Pan, Vyas Ramanan, Andrew Warren, and Justin Lee—from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were awarded $100,000 by the Bill & Melinda Gate...

by Hamadou Modibo Dicko, Philippe Jaillard, and Benjamin Schreiber, AMP; Bruce Y. Lee, University of Pittsburgh; and Heidi Lasher, consultant to project Optimize To improve immunization program performance, the Government of Benin is using cutting-edge modeling tools to better understand how chan...

by Kamel Senouci and Lara Gautier, AMP Many national immunization programs rely on the professional advice of national immunization technical advisory groups (NITAGs) to help them make critical decisions on introducing new vaccines. Implemented in April 2008 by Agence de Médecine Préventive (AMP)...

by Nguyen Van Cuong, NEPI, and Vu Minh Huong, PATH Earlier this year, Vietnam’s National Expanded Programme on Immunization (NEPI) conducted an Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) assessment to evaluate the country’s immunization logistics systems. The results reveal that key improvements have been ...

by Morris Gargar, Consultant; Elly Tumwine, UNICEF; and Ryan McWhorter, Logistimo The Government of the Republic of South Sudan is working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and project Optimize to test a cloud-based logistics management information system (LMIS) that uses mobile phon...

Announcing the 8th Annual 2012 Photoshare Photo Contest - a popular international event mobilizing amateur and professional photographers to share their photos for charitable and educational use. The contest has a top prize of $1,000 USD. Deadline for Entries: December 17, 2012. Entries are accep...

Cross-posted from the GAVI CSO forum. Dear GAVI CSO Constituency members and friends, Civil society (defined by GAVI as non-government and community-based organisations, faith-based groups, academic institutions, professional bodies and women's initiatives) is a critical GAVI partner in immuni...

Dear Sir, On 28 September 2012, we went to an actual waste disposal spot (in Himachal Pradesh) to vaccinate 57 rag pickers, who included women and children. Some of them were bitten by dogs many times, but could not get vaccinated due to the high costs involved. Pre-exposu...

Watch Leema, a polio volunteer, as she goes from house to house vaccinating children in Jalalabad, eastern Afghanistan under extremely demanding conditions. The biggest concern for the personnel is the security in the region but that doesn't deter them from doing their job. [youtube]http://www.yo...

Dear colleagues, Here is a rather technical question: what to do with a "non freeze-sensitive" vaccine after exposure to freezing? The ultimate objective of my question is to refine and validate operational guidance for field workers. In the case of the "freeze-sensitive" v...

Many thanks to Mojtaba Haghgou for sharing this article with the forum. Vaccine cold chain functional inventory and gap analysis: Looking at all existing cold chain equipment at one go Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Iran, July 2011 By Dr. Mohsen Zahraei, EPI Manager and Mr. G. Zamani, V...

Cool Containers has developed and introduced the PharmaPort 360 container for 5C transport of vaccines and bio-pharmaceuticals. Recently UPS delivered $9 Million worth of Flu Vaccine to Laos, it was a tricky 9000 mile delivery: http://youtu.be/p5V6f-KRWiE Cool Containers is very interested in wo...

by Dr. Joyce Charo, DVI, Kenya and Dr. Anthony Ngatia, CHAI A web-based stock management tool has just been deployed in five regional stores across Kenya. The goal is to ensure the availability of vaccines by reducing stockouts and improving vaccine program performance. Dr. Joyce Charo from the Div...