A study was conducted in Turkana county on vaccine storage and distribution practices in the last mile of vaccine supply chain in Turkana county. Leading scholars aim of the research was to analyse data and give presentations on vaccines quality and potency.
Vaccines require cold chain storage conditions, and good distribution practices throughout the supply chain to maintain their quality and potency. However, in the last mile of the vaccines supply chain, these requirements may have not been guaranteed resulting in reduced effectiveness which could lead to an upsurge in vaccine preventable morbidity and mortality.
In a total of 122 health workers who participated in the study, most respondents had varying percentages and knowledge of vaccine storage. Many of the respondents had sufficient knowledge of ice pack conditioning although 72% had adequate vaccine carriers and ice packs. Only 67% of respondents had a complete set of twice-daily manual temperature records at the facility. Most refrigerators complied with the WHO specifications but only 80% of them had functional fridge-tags.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2022 to February 2022 across seven sub-counties in Turkana County, Kenya, to assess vaccine storage and distribution practices. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, adapted, and adopted from a standardized WHO questionnaire on effective vaccines management and administered to one healthcare personnel working in the immunization supply chain per facility.
The number of facilities that had a routine maintenance plan was below average while only 65% had an adequate contingency plan. The findings of this study have revealed that there is suboptimal vaccine storage and distribution practices in the last mile, to rural health facilities.
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