Cold chain equipment management - technical resources

A fully functional cold chain system must be available in country to ensure the uninterrupted availability of quality vaccines to service-delivery levels. Cold chain equipment is therefore of paramount importance, and require rigorous management at all levels. Resulting from thorough collaboration between technical assistance providers, this package of technical resources has been designed to ensure that in-country cold chain equipment managers and technicians, as well as anyone who will be involved or is interested in immunization supply chain, have access to concise yet precise information and guidance on key steps of the cold chain equipment management process. The package can also be used to develop the documentation needed to develop application to funding mechanisms to finance cold chain equipment needs, such as Gavi's Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Platform.

The resources in this package have been developed primarily to be used by country logisticians, Ministries of Health, district managers, and even frontline health facility employees; as well as civil society organizations, technical assistance providers and third party consultants supporting countries in the development of their cold chain equipment capabilities. For each of the CCE management steps outlined below, a set of guides, tools, and templates to enable the user to develop CCE management capabilities, in an intuitive and user-friendly way. Please browse through the documents available to find the key information needed to enhance your CCE management knowledge and capacity.

• Inventory and facility segmentation
• Rehabilitation and expansion planning
• Equipment selection and deployment
• Maintenance

Inventory and facility segmentation

The documents made available below will allow users to conduct a successful CCE inventory, as well as establishing facility segmentation to identify the multiple technology options for both on-grid and off-grid facilities.

Rehabilitation and expansion planning

These documents will help the user in developing a cold chain rehabilitation and expansion plan, which takes into account a coverage plan and capacity analysis, and determine the needs of countries to develop and/or restore their storage and outreach capacity, in terms of units planned for rehabilitation, replacement and equipment of new facilities.

Equipment selection and deployment

The documents below will guide the user in defining the quantity, type, capacity, and model of equipment to be purchased, a clear description of batching and sequencing for purchasing and installation, and the type of procurement channel (e.g., self-procurement, UNICEF SD).

Maintenance

The documents below will help defining the cold chain equipment maintenance plan based on an overall maintenance strategy and structure, and the needs for both corrective and preventative maintenance.