India training other countries in effective vaccine management NIHFW director

New Delhi, Mar 26 (PTI) A nodal agency under the Union Health Ministry which trains personnel for capacity building of programme managers has said it is training countries like Nepal and Maldives in effective vaccine management.
     Dr Dheeraj Shah, Director of the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), said India not only has a robust cold chain framework and vaccine management, it also provides technical support for capacity-building activities to countries.
     National Cold Chain Vaccine Management Resource Centre (NCCVMRC), an important wing of NIHFW, has the mandate of training personnel for capacity building of programme managers and cold chain technicians so that cold-chain points across the country function like clockwork.
     "Maintaining optimum temperatures during vaccine transportation, from manufacturing to administration, is very crucial for their effectiveness. The NCCVMRC ensures cold chain points that work as fulcrums of this huge infrastructure, function optimally to maintain that," Shah said.
     Skill-based trainings on repair and maintenance of all these cold chain equipment such as ice-lined refrigerators, deep freezers, walk-in freezers and walk-in coolers are imparted. If there is a fault anywhere in the entire system, it has to be promptly attended to, he stressed.
     Besides local technicians who get training on the repair and maintenance of the equipment, the NIHFW also maintains a national pool of technicians who have been trained. They are rushed to duty if a fault cannot be rectified locally, Shah explained.
     The NCCVMRC is also planning to upgrade to an international centre of excellence, testifying India's leadership in immunisation and supply chain, he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)