A vaccine cold-chain symposium was officially opened on Monday, November 17, with a call to strengthen reliable cold-chain systems, and recognise cooling as critical climate infrastructure, as essential as energy, transport, and water infrastructure.

The Vaccine Symposium, held under the theme Building the Next Generation of Vaccine Cold-Chain in Africa, is being hosted from November 17 to 19 by the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain (ACES), in collaboration with the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), the University of Birmingham (UoB), the Clean Cooling Network, the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), and partners at the ACES Rubirizi Campus in Kigali.

The three-day event brings together over 200 scientists, engineers, researchers, health policymakers, industry experts, and private-sector innovators working in human and animal health, as well as the environmental sector, from across Rwanda and the UK.

Their focus is one of the continent’s most pressing challenges: maintaining vaccination efficiency for both humans and animals in a warming world. The aim is to explore cutting-edge advancements in resilient, climate-friendly vaccine cold-chain systems, fostering scientific innovation and collaboration across Africa.

Professor Toby Peters, Founding Director of ACES, said during the opening that the symposium marks a new chapter for Africa’s vaccine resilience.

ACES is the first global Centre of Excellence focused on developing holistic and sustainable system-level cold-chain solutions.

"We are combining engineering, health science, and clean energy to build systems that are reliable, inclusive, and climate-aligned. We find it very sustainable to look at the matter through the One Health lens, where we believe that aligning human and veterinary vaccination programmes would be more efficient. Our goal is to ensure that no vaccine, and no life, human or animal, is lost to heat,” he said.

He stressed that a holistic approach to solving cold-chain challenges is necessary, given that upwards of 30% of vaccines are lost between manufacturer and patient in Africa.

"When we think about vaccines, we think about developing and manufacturing them, but we forget about how to move them from the manufacturer to the patients, and that’s a critical part of the infrastructure. We need to mitigate that, especially at a time of increasing temperatures and climate challenges.”

He added that collaboration with manufacturers to identify new technologies and ideas is essential.

"We’re trying to change the system, mitigate vaccine losses, and make sure we have engineers who can install and maintain the equipment.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), up to 50% of vaccines are lost globally each year due to failures in temperature-controlled storage and transport, a figure that can reach 30% in parts of Africa. The consequences are both economic and human: wasted doses, reduced immunisation coverage, and avoidable disease outbreaks.

Climate change is amplifying the crisis. Rising temperatures, unreliable electricity supply, and outdated equipment threaten vaccine integrity. With Africa’s cooling demand projected to triple by 2050, sustainable cold-chain systems are becoming critical infrastructure for public health.

ACES’s leadership lies in connecting innovation with implementation. Current projects include VACCAIR, which uses drones to deliver vaccines to remote areas, cutting delivery times from days to minutes and reducing the need for cooling at peripheral levels of the immunisation programme.

Other initiatives include solar-powered cold storage systems that ensure stable temperatures during power outages, and immune diagnostics (blood spotting) to enable community screening for vaccination needs, and promote targeted vaccination.

These have already demonstrated success in improving vaccine reliability and accountability across Rwanda, Kenya, and partner countries.

Human health perspective

Isabelle Mukagatare, Head of the Biomedical Services Department who represented the Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) during the symposium said: "Vaccines remain one of the most powerful tools in safeguarding lives. But their impact depends entirely on a cold chain that ensures each dose reaches every community safely, at the right temperature, and on time.

"In Rwanda and across the continent, strong supply chains are essential. As climate change disrupts infrastructure, power systems, and disease patterns, resilient and efficient cold-chain systems must be central to our health and climate strategies.”

She noted that across many rural and low-resource settings, power instability and limited infrastructure still lead to preventable vaccine wastage in both human and animal health. Fridges fail, ice packs melt, and temperature monitoring remains insufficient.

"These gaps translate into missed opportunities to prevent illness, deaths, and economic losses, even when vaccines are available. Addressing this requires more than technical adjustments. It calls for an integrated One Health approach that reflects guidance from Africa CDC, WHO, Rwanda’s NST and Vision 2050, Agenda 2063, and Immunisation Agenda 2030. Our shared goal is resilient systems, local innovation, and equitable access to life-saving vaccines.”

She emphasised scaling simple, practical technologies such as thermostable vaccines, patches, better carriers, and quick point-of-care checks to reduce pressure on weak cold chains.

She also highlighted the VaccAir project at Rwamagana Hospital, which uses drones to deliver vaccines directly to distant facilities, reducing storage points and closing cold-chain gaps.

"Without a reliable cold chain, vaccines, no matter how advanced, cannot protect people or animals. With a well-maintained, energy-efficient, and well-monitored cold chain, wastage decreases, costs are contained, and equity improves.”

Animal health perspective

According to Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), given that around three-quarters of emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic, it is essential to design vaccination strategies within a One Health framework.

Jean Claude Ndorimana, Director General of Animal Resources Development for the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, reminded participants that zoonotic diseases are a major global threat, saying that sustainable disease control depends on coordinated efforts across human, animal, and environmental health sectors.”

"We know that over 60% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic. Animal vaccines are our first line of defence for both livestock and humans. Vaccine cold chains are not just a logistical challenge—they are a strategic national priority. They sit at the intersection of animal health, food security, public health, resilience, and economic transformation.”

Under Rwanda’s 5th Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (PSTA-5), the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources is prioritising stronger veterinary services, reliable vaccine cold chains, better disease surveillance, digital and smart technologies, and improved laboratory and diagnostic systems.

He listed innovations already being deployed or in development, including solar-powered vaccine refrigerators, real-time temperature monitoring with IoT sensors, data-driven forecasting to reduce wastage, drone-assisted delivery in mountainous areas, regional distribution hubs, and predictive analytics for early detection of equipment failures.

"A strong animal vaccine cold chain is not only a veterinary issue, it is an economic issue. Healthy animals mean stable protein supplies, safer trade, and reduced treatment costs. If we act decisively, we can ensure that every dose reaches its destination safely, sustainably, and on time. By protecting vaccines, we safeguard futures,” he added.

Fabrice Ndayisenga, Head of Animal Resources Research and Technology Transfer at RAB, said that previously, districts transported vaccines from Kigali, which was inefficient and risked cold-chain breaks.

"Since 2022, vaccines are directly delivered to districts through a partnership with Zipline company, ensuring faster, reliable cold delivery. This enables faster outbreak response, with vaccines deployable same-day or next-day. Rapid response to outbreaks requires fast vaccine deployment," he said.

He said RAB is shifting towards AI-enabled, data-driven, risk-based vaccination systems as government plans for local vaccine manufacturing in collaboration with RAB.

"We are also strengthening One Health integration for zoonotic disease control, digitalising animal identification and vaccination records as well as expanding and optimising the Veterinary Sanitary Mandate model.”