Today in Mozambique, one of our core countries, the first COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Maputo. Health workers are first priority to receive the vaccines; but it still comes nearly 72 days after the first U.S. health workers received their shots.
Read full storyIt is hard to believe that we are coming up on a year of the battle against COVID-19. And 53 million cases later, we are starting to see promising results from one of many vaccines in the race – a Pfizer experimental vaccine shown to be 90 percent effective.
So now, the world’s attention has shifted to preparing for future vaccines – including the huge undertaking to make them available. As Bill Gates laid out in a recent article “the world first needs three things: the capacity to produce billions of vaccine doses, the funding to pay for them, and the systems to deliver them.”
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Originally posted on Medium.com
Sena Kwawu, VillageReach board member, has spent his career focusing on operational excellence, from leading Six Sigma/LEAN organizations, running risk management at an insurance firm, being on the executive team overseeing global coffee supply chains at Starbucks, to managing operations at Frontdoor, Inc, a US-based home services business. This week, he shared his private sector expertise as a plenary speaker at the 16th TechNet Conference, a gathering of immunization professionals from around the world committed to strengthening immunization services.
Read full storyOriginally posted on Medium.com
I started working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) four years ago when VillageReach was approached with an opportunity–to improve the availability of vaccines and essential medicines in rural Equateur province.
I never back down from a challenge, and this one couldn’t be more difficult given the forest density, the river running through the province, and lack of roads. What roads there were would get washed away or become mud pistes for Land Cruisers during the rainy season.
In countries like DRC, supply chains are designed with the environment in mind and drones looked promising for vaccine distribution given these conditions. After months of building the case for testing drones, the plan to perform a series of demonstration flights was approved.
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Jean Louis Esanzo in his clinic
Jean Louis Esanzo, is the Superintendent Nurse at the Konongo Health Center, in the Mankanza health district of Equateur province, DRC. Konongo Health Center supplies vaccines and essential medicines for many surrounding villages. However, the only way to get vaccines to Konongo from the provincial warehouse is by boat on the Congo River. This means long journeys and high transportation costs the health center could not afford, which led to frequent vaccine stock outs in the past.
Read full storyWhen Cyclone Idai hit nearly three weeks ago, it caused significant destruction to health infrastructures, with 54 health centers inoperable, as of April 9th.
Destruction in Beira Central Hospital
There was also extensive damage to Beira Central Hospital, which is the main hospital in the province. Poor access to health centers continues to be the greatest challenge in restocking essential medicines and medical supplies. Now, there are more than 35 partners engaged in health relief efforts, including VillageReach.
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