Equity approach to cold chain deployment: Application in Pakistan

As part of its support to the Government of Pakistan in 2017–2018, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) collaborated with VillageReach to conduct an analysis of the country’s immunization supply chain design. At the time, Pakistan was one of the first countries receiving CCE through the CCEOP, and in the first year of deployment. Although the analysis could not inform the first year of deployment (which was designed to meet urgent needs), its equity lens was leveraged to prioritize cold chain deployment in subsequent years. This document describes the equity approach developed during the supply chain re-design process in Pakistan. It informs, as an example, the identification of areas with both insufficient cold chain storage and low immunization coverage and recommends these as highest priority areas to receive CCE. As new threats, such as COVID-19, emerge and new vaccines are developed, analysing CCE needs using an equity lens will be crucial in helping to provide the most people possible with