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- An Exchange of Notes (E/N) concerning a general grant amounting to 221 million JPY in aid for the “Project for Expansion of the Cold Chain” was signed on 19 July 2013 in Lusaka, the Republic of Zambia between Mr. Akio Egawa, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Republic of Zambia and Dr. Iyorlumun J. Uhaa, UNICEF Representative in the Republic of Zambia.
- This project aims to provide 570 refrigerators and 500 insulated storage containers through UNICEF to medical institutions throughout Zambia for the preservation of vaccines for the prevention of infectious diseases of children.
- The average life-expectancy in Zambia is 48 years, which is far below the average among the other African countries (54 years). This low life expectancy is attributable mainly to Zambia’s high infant mortality rate. Common of the causes of death for children under 5 years of age in Zambia are diarrhea, pneumonia, measles and polio-myelitis, diseases for which the Government of the Republic of Zambia has introduced vaccination programs. However, the number of refrigerators for the preservation of these vaccines in the country has been lacking far behind what is needed.
- This assistance enables medical institutions to preserve vaccines at an appropriate temperature as well as to secure vaccine transportation and preservation systems, and is ultimately expected to help Zambia effectively and appropriately implement important vaccination programs and contribute to the decrease of the mortality rate of children under 5.
- At the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), which was held in June, Japan announced its commitment to strengthen health systems in order to realize “Universal Health Coverage”. The aforementioned project will be implemented as part of this commitment.
（Reference1） Universal Health Coverage is the condition wherein all the people are able to access to basic health services.
（Reference2） The Republic of Zambia is situated in the interior of southern Africa. Its land area is 753,000 km2, its population is about 13.47 million (World Bank, 2011) and its gross national income (GNI) per capita is 1,160 USD (World Bank, 2011).
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