Solar powered refrigerators keep vaccines cold, even in places with no power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dozens of children at a clinic in North Kivu, on the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), received a measles vaccine in May, made possible by a quiet revolution in refrigeration that keeps vaccines cold, even in places without reliable electric power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The “solar direct-drive” refrigerators – plain, box-like coolers that do not require fuel or batteries – have helped boost child vaccinations in DRC’s poorest rural provinces by 50% in the past year, according to global vaccine alliance Gavi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That has helped cut child mortality in DRC to half of what it was two decades ago. More than 18 million children were vaccinated last year against a deadly measles outbreak, which has slowed dramatically in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now the world is looking to launch a far bigger immunisation push once vaccines for COVID-19 become available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n