“Thanks to a new refrigerator we can vaccinate children immediatly”, says Simplice Tirogo, nurse and head of the Tovor health care centre.
Simplice Tirogo is a nurse and head of the centre for health care and social support in Tovor, Burkina Faso. The project 'Ozone and Climate Friendly Cooling in West and Central Africa (ROCA)' supported his health care centre with a vaccine refrigerator in 2023. "Our refrigerator was broken since 2020, so the vaccines had to be stored in a neighbouring village. Each time, we had to travel 15 km to bring back the vaccines in a transport box that lasted cold during only a day or two. That means, the cold chain was not sufficient and many vaccines spoiled", explains Simplice Tirogo. "Since we received the refrigerator, we can store the vaccines and keep them fresh on site. We can now instantly immunise the pregnant women and the children who come here and whose vaccinations had to be postponed before. This is very satisfying. I thank all partners who made this possible."
During the first year after the acquisition, 11 000 persons profited from vaccinations in Tovor and in nine other newly equipped health care centres. The new refrigerators are even more climate-friendly than the previous ones: they are very energy-efficient and run on the natural refrigerant isobutane (R600a). The necessary electricity comes from solar panels.
Country: Burkina Faso
Project: ROCA
Donors: European Union, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
