Cold chain technology company Gricd, which incorporates the Internet of Things (IoT) to drive consistent follow-through in the delivery of temperature-sensitive products, has been selected by Nigeria's National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for an advantageous vaccine-supply deal. Gricd will transport 4.2 million Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to the entire 36 states in the country as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
The Moderna doses were gifted to the Nigerian government from USAID through the COVAX initiative. Seeing as the vaccines require storage at a temperature between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius, Gricd's MOTE data logger will be on hand to track the nitty gritty details of shipment conditions. It transmits location, temperature, and humidity information in real time, and with this full transparency, the NPHCDA can therefore make concrete plans for the entirety of the doses.
Dependable cold storage has long been an issue contributing to low vaccination coverage and high waste rates globally. Every year, over half of vaccines are rendered null due to problems with logistics, temperature consistency, and other general shipping woes, according to the World Health Organization. In rural areas with rudimentary infrastructure, which applies to approximately 60% of the African continent, the predicament is exponentially worse.
