HOPEVACC to Donate Solar-Powered Refrigerators to Improve Vaccine Storage in Underserved Communities

By: Opeyemi Samuel

HOPEVACC, an impact-driven project focused on strengthening Nigeria’s immunization system, is a strategic partnership between Solfa Power Limited and Cardinal Healthcare Foundation, aimed at deploying solar-powered vaccine refrigerators in underserved communities across Nigeria.

The project is primarily funded by the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), a specialized agency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission responsible for development and promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Speaking during the unveiling of the initiative, Ponmile Idaresit Ogunjemite, Executive Director of Cardinal Health Foundation, and Chinenye Ajayi, Co-Founder of Solfa Power Ltd, highlighted the urgent need to address poor electrification and inadequate vaccine storage in rural communities through sustainable solar-powered cold-chain solutions.

The initiative seeks to address the twin challenges of poor electrification and inadequate vaccine storage by providing solar boxes and dependable solar-powered cold-chain solutions to primary healthcare centres and traditional birth attendant centres in rural communities. This intervention is expected to reduce vaccine shortages, wastage, and inefficiencies that have long affected the country’s immunization programmes.

In many rural parts of Nigeria, inconsistent power supply and limited cold-chain infrastructure have made it difficult for health facilities to properly store vaccines. Since vaccines require specific temperature conditions to remain effective, disruptions in storage systems can compromise their potency, leading to shortages and avoidable wastage.

To solve this problem, HOPEVACC is introducing solar-powered refrigeration systems that allow health facilities to safely store vaccines without relying on unstable electricity supply. Powered by solar energy, the refrigerators are designed to maintain the required cold-chain temperatures, making them ideal for underserved communities where access to electricity is limited or unreliable.

Within the next couple of months, HOPEVACC plans to deploy solar-powered vaccine refrigerators, solar boxes, and geostats to rural health facilities and traditional birth centres across Nigeria. The project will also educate about 1,000 parents particularly mothers, caregivers, and community members on the importance of maternal and child vaccination, with the aim of reducing vaccine-preventable deaths caused by ignorance and misinformation.

In addition, the initiative will strengthen local healthcare systems by improving cold-chain infrastructure, increasing vaccination coverage by at least 30 percent in target areas, and training birth attendants and healthcare workers in freezer maintenance and proper vaccine handling.

The deployment of these solar systems and refrigerators will provide healthcare workers with reliable storage solutions that preserve vaccine potency and ensure the continuous availability of life-saving vaccines for children and mothers.

Through this initiative, HOPEVACC seeks to improve the electrification of primary healthcare facilities, support efforts to expand immunization coverage, and protect vulnerable populations from vaccine-preventable diseases.