STEM
In 2008, WHO estimated that 1.5 million deaths among children under 5 years were due to vaccine-preventable diseases. Immunization systems in low-resource areas are unsustainable due to a lack of electricity, unreliable transportation, and gaps in the vaccine supply chain. The Solar Fridge is an inexpensive, low-maintenance vaccine storage refrigerator for long-term, on-site vaccine storage that ensures the safety and viability of vaccines in low-resource communities. Between 2008 and 2012, this project transitioned between different departments and teams. Although the general focus of vaccine sustainability has persisted, the user needs and target population were either lost or not found. Therefore, the project has recently focused efforts on the reevaluation of its needs assessment approach. During the summer of 2017, our team performed a problem definition trip with our community partners in Rincon Claro--a small village in the Dominican Republic. We learned that the greatest problem they are facing is on-site vaccine storage, making the Solar Fridge a perfect fit. We also visited other communities and validated this as an overarching problem in this region. This trip has helped Solar Fridge in re-establishing a need, allowing for future progress towards improving vaccine sustainability. Currently, we are pursuing a design using a battery charged with grid and solar power to run a vaccine refrigerator while also working with a design using adsorption refrigeration.
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