Johannesburg -- In continuing the implementation of the 2011 Post Introduction Evaluation of New Vaccines (PIE) recommendations for South Africa, WHO and the South African Department of Health held a national training attended by national and provincial EPI, Cold Chain and Depot managers to improve Effective Vaccine Management. The workshop was facilitated by Ms Diana Chang Blanc (WHO HQ) and Mr Serge Ganivet (WHO IST-ESA) with funding from the US Centres for Disease Control.

Dr Augustin Ntilivamunda, on behalf of WR South Africa, Dr Sarah Barber, gave the opening remarks. He commended South Africa “as one of the countries, which has successfully introduced new vaccines into the EPI schedule (Rotavirus and Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)) ahead of most countries in the region. These 2 vaccines are critical in achieving greater reductions of child morbidity and mortality due to rotavirus diarrheal disease as well as pneumococcal disease. These vaccines can contribute to the attainment of MDG 4.”

The training was the first in South Africa. It covered the following areas: Proper vaccine storage temperatures and handling, Temperature monitoring tools including Vaccine Vial Monitoring, Multi Dose Vial Policy, Vaccine Forecasting and stock management, Monitoring Vaccine wastage, Preventing freezing and practicing the Shake Test, Estimating vaccine volume and cold chain capacity, Knowing the types of cold chain equipment, and Contingency planning.

The participants agreed on the following recommendations:

Review of National EPI and cold chain equipment database
Developing a national standard operating procedure for temperature monitoring for vaccine management at all levels
Standardization of cold chain equipment nationally by highlighting the minimum acceptable standards and specifications for these
Standardization of temperature monitoring devices nationally by recommending the monitoring devices to be used at all levels
Implement wastage (“usage”) monitoring at provincial level at sentinel sites in 2013