Call for Expression of Interest – UNICEF – Cold Chain Equipment ( CCE) maintenance and prevention services – April 2024

UNICEF supports the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon with achieving its immunization goals, with an increased focus on the vaccine. The economic and fuel crisis in country, has created acute shortages of electricity supply in country leading to challenges in maintaining functional cold chain and continuation of immunization services at EPI point (PHCs/Dispensaries). To address the power crisis and mitigate the impact on public health services specially immunization, UNICEF replaced vaccine refrigerators in EPI points with WHO PQRS and most of them being solar refrigerators; in addition, UNICEF supplied all public EPI points with Remote Temperature Monitoring devices and digitalized the cold chain maintenance request. Also, UNICEF installed solarized cold rooms across the country, in addition to solarizing district offices and central drug warehouse. 

UNICEF has been supporting MoPH in the maintenance of cold chain equipment used for safe storage of vaccines in all public EPI points and in the preventive maintenance of the solar systems installed. In 2024, UNICEF will continue providing this support through a third-party organization.  

To ensure cold chain functionality and assure the quality of vaccines across all MoPH network PHCCs, dispensaries, and UNRWA clinics through equipment repair and maintenance, as well as capacity building of MoPH and UNRWA staff at central and peripheral levels on cold chain equipment maintenance. UNICEF has been supporting MoPH in the maintenance of cold chain equipment in PHCs nationally through a service provider. UNICEF aims to continue the work with MoPH and UNRWA to ensure that both organizations can self-sustain the cold chain system. This will be accomplished through cold chain rehabilitation when and where needed. Ensuring a functional cold chain and building capacity for MoPH and UNRWA in cold chain system maintenance will include the following key activities: a) Ensuring the proper functioning of the cold chain equipment (such as: refrigerator,RTMDs) for safe vaccine storage at public health facilities, through regular and on-call inspection and maintenance across Lebanon, and to keep it performing at its optimal sustainable manner.b) Maintain regular inspection and maintenance plan, including on-call visits for a minimum of more than 800 public EPI points, i.e. dispensaries, Primary Health Care Centers, UNRWA clinics, MoPH Qadaa offices, cold rooms, UNHCR vaccination sites, national borders’ vaccination sites, and other sites to be identified) and rehabilitation of cold chain equipment as needed. c) preventive maintenance as well as on call visits for solar systems installed

This tendering will result in awarding a long-term agreement with the winning service provider for an initial period of 3 years, subject to extension upon the satisfactory delivery of services to UNICEF and Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).