The vaccine warehouse stores about 9,000 liters of vaccines to vaccinate 41,500 children under the age of one. Walk-in-cold rooms have been supplied and installed in this facility to keep vaccines safe with a temperature of plus 2-8 of Celsius. The overall capacity of this warehouse allows fast access and speedy transportation of vaccines to a large number of children in all districts of the region.

“We are going through difficult times, and COVID-19 has given a clear call, which UNICEF has been promoting many years, that vaccination should be available for all. This is extremely relevant in today's situation. In this regard, our contribution today with the support of GAVI is very important”, said Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative in Uzbekistan. “We believe that this modern vaccine warehouse will significantly contribute to improving the health of children and will contribute to improving the immunization services, including COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Bukhara region”, he added.

Since 2017, UNICEF has supported the construction of a total of 21 vaccine warehouses across Uzbekistan. Currently, 17 vaccine warehouses with a volume of 10 to 40 cubic meters are equipped with modern equipment such as fire protection and security alarm systems, loading and unloading systems, refrigerators, freezers, temperature monitoring devices, cold boxes, and generators. UNICEF also provides protective clothing for staff. Another four warehouses will be commissioned in early 2021.

UNICEF also supports staff training, provision of necessary guidelines and instructions on how to run the facilities, refrigerated trucks, vaccine carriers, and cold boxes.