Expanding the vaccine cold chain in Kenya through innovative cooling solutions

The document highlights the stagnation of energy access at Kenyan government health facilities, which grew only 1% between 2016 and 2021. It details the failures of absorption technology refrigerators relying on LPG, which are described as environmentally damaging and prone to vaccine freezing. To address this, the Kenyan Ministry of Health aims to equip all facilities with 'optimal CCE' by 2026, utilizing technology that meets WHO and Gavi standards for freeze protection, holdover time, and fossil-fuel-free operation.

• Energy access at government-operated health facilities in Kenya remained nearly stagnant between 2016 and 2021, increasing by only 1 percentage point from 69 percent to 70 percent, while residential access grew from 52 percent to 70 percent between 2016 and 2019.
• Absorption technology refrigerators using liquified petroleum gas (LPG) as a power source are costly, environmentally harmful, and unreliable, contributing to a 3.5 percent facility-based freeze excursion rate due to a lack of freeze-protection mechanisms. These units cost USD 422 per health facility and consume approximately 123 tonnes of LPG annually based on a monthly rate of 11.4 kg.
• The Kenyan Ministry of Health intends to equip all facilities with optimal cold chain equipment (CCE) by 2026. This equipment must meet WHO Performance, Quality, and Safety Catalogue requirements and Gavi's CCEOP standards, featuring Grade A user-independent freeze protection, increased holdover time during power outages, and the elimination of fossil fuels for power.

APA

Sustainable Energy for All (2022). Expanding the vaccine cold chain in Kenya through innovative cooling solutions. https://www.seforall.org/data-stories/expanding-the-vaccine-cold-chain-in-kenya

Chicago

Sustainable Energy for All. Expanding the vaccine cold chain in Kenya through innovative cooling solutions. 2022. https://www.seforall.org/data-stories/expanding-the-vaccine-cold-chain-in-kenya.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Sustainable Energy for All |title=Expanding the vaccine cold chain in Kenya through innovative cooling solutions |date=3 May 2022 |url=https://www.seforall.org/data-stories/expanding-the-vaccine-cold-chain-in-kenya |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sustainableenergyforall2022expanding, author = {{Sustainable Energy for All}}, title = {{Expanding the vaccine cold chain in Kenya through innovative cooling solutions}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.seforall.org/data-stories/expanding-the-vaccine-cold-chain-in-kenya}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }