THE JAPAN International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Wednesday announced that it officially turned over P80 million worth of cold chain and logistics equipment to help deploy COVID-19 vaccines across the Philippines.
This includes two units of service vehicles, two units of refrigerated vans, and 600 units of biothermal packaging, which are reusable iceless containers for the storage of vaccines.
JICA said in a press release that this initiative will help the Philippines “achieve its vaccination targets to underserved priority groups, particularly in hard-to-reach communities, and restart new normal lives and economic activities.”
The agency is also planning to provide P275 million worth of other cold chain equipment under a grant aid project.
JICA previously donated around P80 million worth of medical equipment and supplies to various hospitals and medical centers in the country.
It also provided training on telemedicine to Filipino doctors and frontliners to increase hospitals’ capacity of giving intensive care services.
It is also looking into initiatives to strengthen the country’s capacity for infectious disease control. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson