Central Asia’s largest multitemperature vaccine storage warehouse was launched in Uzbekistan by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Saturday.
Uzbekistan’s UNICEF stated that it is a significant milestone that the agency handed over the Republican Cold Chain Warehouse, Central Asia’s largest vaccine facility, to the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan on November 20, World Children’s Day.
The opening of this new facility will allow for the storage of huge quantities of vaccines with various temperature needs, including ultra-cold temperatures.
The facility has three 1,000 cubic metres cool rooms, ultracold freezers with a capacity of 3,000 litres, 40 cubic metre freezers, and dry storage for vaccination supplies.
Uzbek Health Minister Behzod Musaev was quoted by UNICEF as saying that they expect this warehouse to serve as a logistics hub for the entire national vaccination programme, doubling their capacity to provide and handle vaccines. Representative to Uzbek UNICEF, Munir Mammadzade shared the images of the opening of the largest warehouse in Central Asia on Twitter.
UNICEF has deployed 223 vehicles of vaccines, as well as vaccination syringes to Uzbekistan since the beginning of the pandemic. Pfizer vaccinations were stored in eight ultracold freezers donated by the UNICEF to Uzbekistan in September. In addition, Uzbekistan has received around 5.5 million doses of COVID vaccine through the UN-led COVAX programme, which provides vaccination injections to low and middle-income nations.
