Africa: Mobile Mast Vaccine Storage Project Wins Global Prize
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
An organisation that uses surplus energy from mobile phone masts to refrigerate vaccines in remote areas was named as the Best Mobile Health Product or Service at the Global Mobile Awards this week.
Judges called the idea “simple, extraordinarily clever and truly innovative” at the awards, which took place at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
Energize the Chain (EtC) is a not-for-profit organisation based in the United States that makes vaccines available in rural, off-grid locations by using the excess energy from power installations at cellphone towers to run refrigeration units.
More than two million children under five years of age die every year from vaccine-preventable diseases, many due to disruption of the cold chain required to keep temperature-sensitive vaccines effective, says Alice Conant, a founding member of the EtC.
Source: All Africa (link opens in a new window)
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