The Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain (ACES), in collaboration with partners, has launched the Veterinary Vaccine Cold-Chain Project (VETVACC), an initiative aimed at improving the storage, transportation and delivery of animal vaccines across Rwanda.

The project was launched on May 28, 2026, during a two-day research instruments validation workshop attended by officials from the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Board (RAB), district veterinary officers, private veterinary practitioners, livestock farmers and vaccine vendors from seven districts.

The initiative seeks to address a critical challenge in animal health by strengthening cold-chain systems that preserve vaccine effectiveness from storage facilities to the point of administration, at farm level.

Modernising Rwanda’s veterinary vaccine supply chain

Jean-Pierre Musabyimana, Head of the One Health Department at ACES, said the project is designed to modernise Rwanda’s veterinary vaccine supply chain, increase livestock vaccination coverage and reduce vaccine wastage. He described VETVACC as a data-driven decision-support system that will optimise vaccine cold-chain logistics throughout the country.

"The project is designed to guide where to invest in infrastructure, how to use key interventions such as drones and how to respond to actual farmer demand,” he said.

According to Musabyimana, one of the first activities will involve geospatial demand mapping to identify livestock farm locations, determine areas with the highest vaccine demand and group farms into clusters to improve distribution efficiency.

The project will also assess weaknesses in the existing cold-chain system by identifying points where vaccine potency is lost during transportation and storage. Researchers will analyse factors such as temperature fluctuations, freezing incidents and equipment failures.

"We need to know where losses occur at every stage of the supply chain so that interventions can be targeted where they are most needed,” he said.

Community Cooling Hubs and drone delivery plans

Another major component of the project is the development and allocation of Community Cooling Hubs (CCHs) to strategic areas, which will serve as local storage facilities for veterinary vaccines.

Optimisation models will be used to identify the most effective locations for these hubs while determining the best combination of conventional transport methods and emerging technologies.

The project will also assess the feasibility of using drones to deliver vaccines to remote areas where road access remains challenging.

Musabyimana said the study will evaluate how drone deliveries can improve access for all livestock species rather than focusing only on cattle and other ruminants.

Under the proposed model, a farm mapping exercise would help to identify high-demand, medium-demand and low-demand livestock areas. Therefore each categorization would be served by approproiately modeled strategies such as solar-powered Community Cooling Hubs strategically located to maximise vaccine coverage while reducing potency loss, or continuing to use existing distribution systems supported by cold-box transportation and vendor cold-chain facilities, and drone-enabled deliveries among others.

Musabyimana emphasised that the project seeks to identify the optimal combination of solutions rather than applying a single model across the country as we know that there is no size that fits all.

Hybrid supply chain model to improve vaccine access

A key innovation under VETVACC is a hybrid push-pull supply chain model, where not only the central institutions like RAB will be able to send vaccines to farms proactively, but also farmers will be able to send real time demands (pull approach) via the VETVACC system. Vaccines would be distributed proactively to Community Cooling Hubs while additional supplies would be delivered in response to real-time demand from farmers.

Fabrice Ndayisenga, Head of Animal Resources Development and Disease Control at RAB, said the country has made significant investments in vaccine distribution, including a partnership with Zipline to deliver vaccines by drone.

"For many years, we have faced challenges in supplying vaccines to farmers. While the Government has invested significantly in vaccine distribution and Zipline has supported us for about five years, numerous challenges remain,” he said.

According to Ndayisenga, difficulties occur throughout the supply chain, from the moment vaccines arrive in the country to their transportation, storage and eventual use in the field.

"This project provides an opportunity to explore new innovations that can strengthen the vaccine value chain and ensure that vaccines administered to animals remain effective and provide the protection they are intended to deliver,” he explained.

He said findings from the study will help identify improvements that all actors in the value chain can implement.

"This applies both to farmers who purchase vaccines from agro-dealers, particularly poultry farmers, and to farmers who receive vaccines through government programmes. We need innovations that can improve vaccine handling, storage and delivery throughout the value chain.”

Ndayisenga also stressed the importance of working closely with private practitioners because many vaccines are distributed through private-sector channels.

Although Zipline's drone deliveries have reduced transportation challenges, he noted that maintaining vaccine temperatures during field vaccination campaigns remains difficult.

"However, once the vaccines are delivered, challenges still remain. Veterinarians who take the vaccines into the field need appropriate equipment to maintain the cold chain during vaccination campaigns,” he said.

Field veterinarians still require cool boxes, ice packs and other equipment to preserve vaccine quality while moving between villages. "There is still room for improvement,” he added.

Veterinary practitioners, vaccine dealers and farmers pin hopes on the project to tackle cold-chain hurdles

Veterinary practitioners, vaccine dealers and farmers also shared their experiences and expectations for the project.

Innocent Nyandwi, Managing Director of Veterinary Sanitary Mandate (VSM) in Kayonza District, pointed to limited access to electricity as a major challenge.

"One of the challenges is the lack of electricity in certain locations. Vaccines require cooling for proper storage, and high temperatures can damage them. We hope this project will deploy cooling technologies that address this challenge,” he said.

Alphonsine Mukagasana, an animal resources officer in Rulindo District, said maintaining the cold-chain becomes difficult once vaccines leave district storage facilities.

"Vaccines are sometimes spoiled because of weather conditions and poor road access. If the cold chain is properly managed, we can store vaccines in our communities for longer periods without spoilage,” she said.

Mukagasana also called for better maintenance of refrigeration equipment and improved monitoring systems.

"Refrigerators also require regular maintenance to ensure sustainable cooling. We need continuous monitoring of vaccine storage and equipment to test vaccine quality before administration,” she added.

Jean de la Paix Izadufasha of Ntarama Pig Farming on Grand Farming on Grand Scale Ltd said the project offers hope for addressing practical challenges faced by livestock farmers.

"Currently, we administer one type of vaccine annually for a particular disease in pigs that are six months old. When vaccines are delivered from district and sector levels, we need the skills and equipment required to maintain the proper temperature and verify that the vaccines remain effective,” he said.

Florentine Ingabire, Director of Le&Li Company Ltd, which imports animal drugs and vaccines, said the workshop provided valuable knowledge on proper vaccine handling.

"We gained valuable knowledge on vaccine handling practices from storage facilities to the farmer level. Some vaccines require higher temperatures while others require lower temperatures,” she said.

"We also learnt how vaccines are monitored and assessed to ensure they remain effective before being administered.”