Cape Town - A multimillion-rand donation of cold chain equipment for Covid-19 vaccine distribution and storage by Vodacom shows how the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and other diseases continues.
Vodacom handed over the equipment to the provincial Health Department at Groote Schuur Hospital as part of an intra-continental donation.
The equipment will assist the department to store and distribute Covid-19 vaccines more easily, as well as move them into remote areas without jeopardising the vaccine’s integrity.
Vaccines need uninterrupted refrigeration where the cold chain is not broken, in order to maintain the efficacy of the vaccine.
Vodacom executive head André Hoffmann said the the donation, made by the Vodacom Group and Vodafone Foundation amounted to R74 million, of which South Africa received R30m.
The 2 197 units of equipment consisting of freezers, fridges and cold coolers , would be distributed to all provinces.
The Western Cape received 257 units of equipment valued at R3.6m to be distributed across 51 sites.
Vodacom’s Managing Director in the province, Carol Hall said the handover here marked the first of the countrywide donations.
Present was Premier Alan Winde who thanked Vodacom for its continued support and partnership.
“Here we’ve got a hi-tech fridge that enables us to offer or continually offer a world-class response through this pandemic, but not only this pandemic because the disaster declaration is now open.
“This pandemic is one of a whole range of issues that you have to deal with in the health system where fridges and cold chains can help.”
Winde also cautioned against a fifth wave of Covid-19 infections, stating that “there will be one”, and he encouraged people to get vaccinated.
Hospital chief operating officer Bernadette Eick said the equipment was needed because the equipment it had was low-tech, making the cold chain a struggle.
“So the investment of such a highend freezer was really, absolutely significant.
“There’s other vaccines and other illnesses, and fortunately, during this (pandemic) there’s a lot of other illnesses we still need to get a handle on in South Africa and the continent, so basic vaccines for measles and polio are really life-changing.”