Africa-Press – Namibia. The ambassador of the United States to Namibia, Randy Berry, handed over 26 mobile freezers and 21 temperature monitoring systems to the Ministry of Health and Social Services on Tuesday.
In a media statement, US embassy spokesperson Tiffany Miller said the handover of the freezers took place at the Central Medical Stores in Windhoek.
“The equipment, to the value of N$1,2 million, helps the health ministry to reduce spoilage of medication by maintaining the required storage temperature,” she added.
Miller said the mobile freezers and temperature monitoring devices were obtained with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Global Health Supply Chain Programme.
She added that the mobile freezers can be charged using a car battery and maintain a temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius.
“These freezers enable the health ministry to transport vaccines and other medicines throughout the country without affecting their quality,” Miller said.
She said that the monitoring devices will be installed at key health facilities in all 14 regions of the country to monitor the temperature of warehouses and containers where medicines are kept.
“Should the storage temperature exceed the required range, an alarm goes off and a message is sent to the team via SMS,” she said.
The installation of all monitoring devices will be completed by 9 April.
Berry said, “With this equipment, the Ministry of Health and Social Services will be able to cut costs, improve the management of medicines, and save more lives.”
The executive director of the ministry of health, Ben Nangombe, said the ministry will use the donated equipment accordingly.
“I want to assure you that we value your support and will use this equipment accordingly, to ensure that our public is getting quality vaccines.”
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