Kenya Improves Cold Chain Systems for Vaccine Storage

Kenya is making significant strides to strengthen its vaccine cold chain infrastructure, a key component of its immunization strategy. On 14 May 2025, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale flagged off 2,000 new cold chain equipment (CCE) units, including solar‑ and electricity-powered refrigerators, cold boxes, and temperature monitors. These units will be distributed across all 47 counties to ensure that vaccines are stored safely—even in remote or hard-to-reach areas.
This rollout builds on earlier investments: in March 2024, the Ministry of Health received 2,061 cold chain units under the Gavi Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Programme (CCEOP) grant. These units were distributed to health facilities nationwide to improve vaccine storage, especially in locations that previously lacked reliable refrigeration.
At the county level, Nyeri County recently received 60 vaccine coolers (worth ~KSh 30 million) to strengthen immunization services in its eight sub‑counties. In Uasin Gishu, UNICEF donated 51 cold chain refrigerators capable of storing vaccines between 2–8°C for up to eight days without power — a critical boost for routine immunization and outreach services.
To support storage of vaccines requiring very low temperatures, Japan has donated 12 ultra-cold freezers to Kenya. These freezers will be placed at the national and regional vaccine stores, helping Kenya to handle vaccines that require more stringent cold chain conditions.
This push to modernize the cold chain is part of Kenya’s broader effort to boost immunization capacity, improve equity, and make sure vaccines remain potent from central storage all the way to community health facilities.