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Africa’s vaccine future depends not only on science but also on temperature. Today, the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain (ACES), in collaboration with the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) through Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) and the University of Birmingham (UoB) launched a One Health event, the 2025 Vaccine Cold-Chain Symposium in Kigali under the theme “Building the Next Generation of Vaccine Cold Chain for Africa.”
The three-day event, hosted at the ACES Rubirizi Campus, brings together over 200 scientists, engineers, health policymakers, and private-sector innovators working in human and animal Health as well as the environmental sector from across Rwanda and the UK to address one of the continent’s most pressing challenges: maintaining vaccination efficiency for both humans and animals in a warming world.
Grounding the Conversation in Evidence
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 50% of vaccines are lost globally each year due to failures in temperature-controlled storage and transport, a figure that can reach 30% in parts of Africa. The consequences are both economic and human: wasted doses, reduced immunization coverage, and avoidable disease outbreaks.
Meanwhile, climate change is amplifying the crisis. Rising temperatures, unreliable electricity supply, and outdated equipment threaten vaccine integrity. With Africa’s cooling demand projected to triple by 2050, sustainable cold-chain systems are becoming critical infrastructure for public health.
Technology Meets Policy
ACES’s leadership lies in connecting innovation with implementation. Its current projects include:
- VACCAIR, which uses drones to deliver vaccines to remote areas, cutting delivery times from days to minutes, and ultimately reducing the need for cooling at peripheral levels of the immunisation program.
- Solar-powered cold storage systems ensure stable temperatures even during power outages.
- Development of immune diagnostics (blood spotting) to enable community screening for vaccination needs, and promote targeted vaccination, therefore save lives and vaccines themselves.
These initiatives have already demonstrated success in improving vaccine reliability and accountability across Rwanda, Kenya, and partner countries.
“This Symposium marks a new chapter for Africa’s vaccine resilience,” said Professor Toby Peters, Founding Director of ACES. “We are combining engineering, health science, and clean energy to build systems that are reliable, inclusive, and climate-aligned. We find it very sustainable to look at the matter through the One Health lens, where we believe that aligning human and veterinary vaccination programs would be more efficient. Our goal is to ensure that no vaccine, and no life of both humans and animals, is lost to heat.”
A Platform for Partnership
This year’s Symposium focuses on policy harmonisation, cross-sector collaboration, and capacity building. Sessions explore topics such as AI-driven predictive maintenance, vaccine economics, the role of data in ensuring cold-chain accountability, and the integration of the One Health framework, which links human, animal, and environmental well-being.
“Rwanda’s commitment is clear; health resilience must be built on systems that are smart, renewable, and equitable. By investing in sustainable cold-chains, we are investing in the health and prosperity of generations to come,” said Prof. Claude Mambo Muvunyi, the Director General of the Rwanda Biomedical Centre.
Dr Solange Uwituze, the Ag. Director General for Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board added: “Given that around three-quarters of emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic, it is essential to design vaccination strategies within a One Health framework. Sustainable disease control depends on coordinated efforts across human, animal, and environmental health sectors.”
A Call for Action and Investment
The Symposium also serves as a call to the international community to recognise cooling as critical climate infrastructure, as essential to national development as energy, transport, or water.
As global partners gather in Kigali, Rwanda’s leadership offers a tangible model for Africa’s future: policy-led, data-driven, and people-focused innovation that turns ambition into action.
About ACES
- ACES is a first-of-its-kind global Centre of Excellence, focused on developing holistic and sustainable system-level cold-chain solutions. Built on a “Hub and Specialised Outreach and Knowledge Establishment (SPOKE)” model, ACES shares knowledge, training, and technical support across markets. ACES serves as the first regional Hub, while SPOKEs, developed with in-country expert partners, provide local training and community support to put tested real-world solutions into practice.
About RBC
- Rwanda Biomedical Centre is Rwanda’s central health implementation agency. With a mission of promoting high-quality, affordable, and sustainable health care services to the population through evidence-based interventions and practices guided by ethics and professionalism, RBC conducts scientific research, provides diagnostic services, and implements innovative health interventions to protect the nation against diseases and other health threats.
About MINAGRI through RAB
- The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, through the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), is a national institution advancing sustainable agriculture and animal resources through research, innovation, and extension. Guided by the One Health approach, RAB fosters collaboration across agriculture, animal health, and human health sectors to safeguard public health, ensure food security, and strengthen resilient health systems in Rwanda and beyond.
