A senior official from Africa CDC has announced that it will support Lesotho in establishing a world-class public health emergency operation center by investing US$500,000 in state-of-the-art equipment and training for frontline health workers.
Dr. Lul Pout Riek, the Regional Coordinator at Africa CDC, made this announcement while handing over high-tech vaccine cold chain equipment to Lesotho on July 31. He stated that the investment is part of the broader effort to establish the Lesotho National Public Health Institute.
"This support demonstrates Africa CDC's dedication to strengthening Lesotho's health security agenda and its commitment to standing with all African Union Member States, in line with the strong mandate given by Heads of State and Governments," Dr. Riek said.
Lesotho received a cold chain pickup vehicle valued at US$113,446, 255 freeze-free vaccine carriers, 22 freeze-free cold boxes, a remote temperature monitoring device, 300 fridge tags, and 30 log tags.
"I am deeply honored to receive, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, this generous donation of state-of-the-art cold chain equipment from Africa CDC," said Selibe Mochoboroane, Minister of Health of the Kingdom of Lesotho.
The support was made possible through the Saving Lives and Livelihoods (SLL) Program, a partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and Africa CDC, in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) as a trusted procurement agent.
"The importance of maintaining an efficient cold chain infrastructure cannot be overstated, especially in our efforts to protect public health. These resources will strengthen our capacity to store and transport vaccines under optimal conditions, preserving their potency and effectiveness from manufacturer to end user," said Mochoboroane.
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He noted that the equipment will enable Lesotho to respond swiftly to health emergencies, ensuring no community is left behind in the country's quest for universal health coverage as outlined in Immunization Agenda 2030.
Dr. Riek emphasized that the handover of cold chain equipment to Lesotho marks only the end of the first phase of Africa CDC's commitment to the country. "Africa CDC is actively planning Phase Two of the Saving Lives and Livelihoods program, which will focus mainly on completing the vaccination of healthcare workers and vulnerable groups, building a robust workforce of community health workers, ensuring pandemic preparedness by strengthening public health institutions, laboratory capacities, data access and quality, local manufacturing of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, and continuing to strengthen Africa CDC," he said.
