ACES launches veterinary vaccine cold-chain project to strengthen livestock health systems

RWANDA – The Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain (ACES), in partnership with key stakeholders, has launched the Veterinary Vaccine Cold-Chain Project (VETVACC), an initiative aimed at improving the storage, transportation and delivery of animal vaccines across Rwanda to strengthen livestock health and reduce vaccine losses.

Launched during a two-day research instruments validation workshop on May 28, the project brings together officials from the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), district veterinary officers, private veterinary practitioners, livestock farmers, and vaccine vendors to address persistent cold-chain challenges that affect vaccine effectiveness.

The initiative focuses on ensuring that vaccines remain potent from central storage facilities to the point of administration, a critical requirement for disease prevention in Rwanda’s growing livestock sector.

Jean-Pierre Musabyimana, Head of the One Health Department at ACES, said VETVACC is designed as a data-driven decision-support system that will modernise veterinary vaccine logistics and improve vaccination coverage across the country.

“The project is designed to guide where to invest in infrastructure, how to use key interventions such as drones and how to respond to actual farmer demand,” he said.

One of the project’s first activities will be a nationwide geospatial mapping exercise to identify livestock farms, assess vaccine demand, and cluster farms to improve distribution efficiency.

Researchers will also evaluate weaknesses across the current vaccine supply chain, including temperature fluctuations, freezing incidents, equipment failures and other factors that contribute to vaccine spoilage and reduced effectiveness.

Community cooling hubs and drone delivery under evaluation

A key component of the initiative is the proposed deployment of Community Cooling Hubs (CCHs), localised storage facilities designed to preserve vaccine quality closer to farming communities.

The project will assess the most effective locations for these hubs and evaluate the integration of conventional transport systems with emerging technologies such as drone delivery.

Musabyimana said the initiative will explore how drones can improve access to vaccines in remote livestock-producing areas where road infrastructure remains limited.

The project also introduces a hybrid push-pull distribution model that combines proactive vaccine distribution with real-time farmer demand. 

Under the system, vaccines would be stocked at community hubs while additional supplies could be dispatched based on requests submitted through the VETVACC platform.

According to RAB, strengthening vaccine logistics remains essential despite significant investments already made in animal health programmes.

Fabrice Ndayisenga, Head of Animal Resources Development and Disease Control at RAB, noted that Rwanda has partnered with drone delivery company Zipline for about five years to improve vaccine access, but challenges remain throughout the supply chain.

“While the Government has invested significantly in vaccine distribution and Zipline has supported us for about five years, numerous challenges remain,” he said.

Ndayisenga explained that maintaining appropriate temperatures during field vaccination campaigns remains a major hurdle, particularly for veterinarians working in remote areas.

Veterinary practitioners, vaccine distributors and livestock farmers attending the workshop highlighted challenges including unreliable electricity, poor road access, inadequate cooling equipment and vaccine spoilage.

Stakeholders expressed hope that the project will deliver practical solutions that improve vaccine quality, reduce wastage and strengthen disease prevention efforts across Rwanda’s poultry, swine, dairy and livestock sectors.

Findings from the project are expected to guide future investments in cold-chain infrastructure, helping ensure vaccines remain effective throughout the value chain and improving animal health outcomes nationwide.

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