India recently achieved the landmark of administering 200 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses. It appears to have effectively adopted a public private partnership (PPP) model in reaching out to the remotest parts of the country.
In order to vaccinate the rural population, the Indian government used services of private hospitals, pharmaceutical firms and incorporated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities of companies to strengthen its cold chain supplies.
According to the Union Health Ministry, 13,626 Ice Lined Refrigerators (ILRs) and 12,461 Deep Freezers (DFs) were made available in 2021-22. “Solar Direct Drives (SDDs) (437), Walk-In Cooler (WIC) (93) and Walk-In Freezer (WIF) (52), Cold Box (large) (33,479) Vaccine Carrier (544,121) Ice packs – (216,6732) for safe storage and transfer were made available. Four insulated vans and 13 refrigerated trucks were made available through CSR,” the ministry said.
