Introduction
Over 30% of food is lost - around 25% of vaccines are wasted, and pandemic surveillance systems still face significant challenges - due to inadequate management strategies such as broken cold-chain systems.
The cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply system essential for preserving food, vaccines, reagents, and biological samples, playing a critical role in health outcomes and food security. It also intersects with climate change due to its reliance on energy and refrigerants.
In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), cold-chains encounter difficulties like outdated infrastructure, insufficient training, and unreliable power. However, documented successes demonstrate that progress is possible through integrated business approaches embedding innovations like solar refrigeration and smart monitoring. As global health evolves, cold chain systems must be redesigned to support emerging needs, including vaccine development, biomanufacturing, and biobanking.
2 x One Week Modules + ONLINE
Hybrid
[email protected]
Jean Pierre Musabyimana
Programme Dates
Course Fees
Attendance is currently FREE for all course dates.26th May - 20th June 2025
ACES Rubirizi Campus, Kigali, Rwanda
- Apply by email to [email protected] before 19th May 2025.
- 26th to 30th May 2025: First onsite session at ACES Rubirizi Campus, Kigali, Rwanda
- 2nd June to 15th June 2025: Online sessions (3 hours a week, self-paced)
- 16th to 20th June 2025: Second onsite session at ACES Rubirizi Campus, Kigali, Rwanda
Course Description
This course explores the critical role of cold chain systems in global health, uniting disciplines such as supply chain management, cryobiology, immunisation research, biobanking, pandemic surveillance, regulatory science, and contextualised business model development. It is tailored for professionals, researchers, students, and regulators working to ensure the integrity of temperature-sensitive products like vaccines, reagents, and biospecimens.
Participants will gain both theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills to design, manage, and troubleshoot cold chain systems across health, research, and outbreak response settings. Topics include temperature effects on biological materials, infrastructure challenges, monitoring technologies, and regulatory standards.
Using case studies such as COVID-19 and Ebola vaccine distribution, the course underscores the life-saving importance of reliable cold chain systems and addresses how cold chain failures contribute to vaccine hesitancy. It discusses new generations of vaccines, such as mRNA vaccines requiring optimal temperatures below 0 degrees, and how to design innovative cold-chain systems for them. Additionally, it examines issues related to cryogenic storage, biospecimen transportation mechanisms, and biobanking systems needed for improved pandemic surveillance systems.
The course supports international compliance (ISO, WHO, HACCP, etc.), enhances professional expertise, and aims to establish a community of practice (CoP) in Rwanda and across Africa to foster innovation and improve cold chain management for immunisation, nutrition, and health security.
Who Should Apply
This course is open to a wide range of professionals, students, experts and policy makers working at the intersection of health, engineering, and biological sciences.
If you're committed to strengthening the integrity of temperature-sensitive products in healthcare, research, and global public health systems, this course is for you.
You are strongly encouraged to apply if you are:
- A vaccine program manager, immunisation officer, or public health practitioner
- A laboratory technician, diagnostic specialist, or biobank coordinator
- A cold chain engineer, refrigeration technician, or systems maintenance specialist
- A biomedical or electrical engineer involved in health-related infrastructure
- A logistics professional managing medical supply chains
- A student or early-career professional in biology, biotechnology, veterinary medicine, bioinformatics, engineering, or public health
- A researcher in vaccine development, disease surveillance, diagnostic innovation, or biospecimen management
- A policymaker, health system planner, or regulatory officer overseeing temperature-controlled health systems
- An executive in the health system with a drive to develop efficient business model to develop innovative solution in the public health supply chain.
Whether you work in human or animal health, laboratory systems, or supply chain logistics, this training provides the interdisciplinary foundation needed to build sustainable and compliant cold chain solutions.
Why This Course Matters
The increasing complexity of global health, the rise of emerging diseases, and the expansion of biomanufacturing all demand stronger cold chain systems.
In low- and middle-income countries, outdated infrastructure, unreliable power, and lack of skilled personnel put millions of lives at risk.
This course responds to those challenges by:
- Offering real-world training rooted in the needs of LMICs
- Bridging the gap between biological sciences and refrigeration engineering
- Showcasing solutions like solar-powered cooling, smart monitoring, and regional innovations such as Rwanda’s VaccAir and biobanking programs
- Laying the groundwork for a Community of Practice (CoP) to strengthen cold chain management in Global Health
What You Will Learn
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Explain how temperature affects the integrity of vaccines, reagents, and biospecimens at the molecular level
- Describe the full architecture of cold chain systems, including storage, transport, monitoring, and validation
- Evaluate different designs and needs for implemention of reliable cold chain systems tailored to specific products and local contexts
- Identify risk factors and troubleshoot failures in real-time, using digital tools and emerging technologies
- Understand the needed level pf compliancy with international regulatory frameworks (e.g., WHO, ISO, GxP) to support quality assurance systems
- Apply best practices from global case studies, including COVID-19, Ebola, and malaria vaccine delivery, and utilise innovative cold-chain systems in biomanufacturing as well as outbreak preparedness and response in your own work.
- Learn different collaborative strategies that link health, engineering, logistics, and research through a One Health approach.
Syllabus Outline
Module 1: Introduction to Cold Chain Systems and Global Health
- Definition, key components, and objectives of cold chain systems.
- The role of cold chain in maintaining vaccine potency and diagnostic reliability.
Module 2: Biological Principles of Cold Chain and Remaining Shelf-Life (RSL) estimation for global health products
- Effects of temperature on biological products at the cellular and molecular levels.
- Mechanisms of degradation and preservation techniques, including cryopreservation and lyophilization.
- Remaining Shelf-Life (RSL) estimation for global health products such as foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals
Module 3: Components of Cold Chain Systems, Logistics, and Emerging Technologies
- Overview of storage solutions, transportation modes, and monitoring tools.
- Innovations including IoT monitoring, telemetry, blockchain applications, and smart packaging.
Module 4: Biospecimen and diagnostics Cold Chain – Management of laboratory and testing programs, important for surveillance and outbreak control
- Transportation and packaging solutions: active systems (refrigerated trucks, aircraft cargo units) and passive systems (insulated containers with phase-change materials).
- Infrastructure requirements and real-world applications, including mobile and static cryogenic storage.
Module 5: Vaccine Cold Chain – Risk Management, Challenges, and Innovations in Immunisation Programs
- Specific cold chain requirements for various vaccine types, barriers (infrastructure, energy, workforce training), and emerging solutions like solar-powered and passive cooling systems.
- Case studies on COVID-19 and malaria vaccine distribution.
- Hands-on exercises to optimize coldchain conditions for vaccines
Module 6: Practical Applications and Real-World Case Studies through a One Health Lens
- Hands-on exercises, simulations, and group projects to design, monitor, and troubleshoot cold chain systems in defined contexts such as national child immunization programs, insulin supply chain and outbreak preparedness and response, among many others.
- Analysis of case studies from Rwanda and other resource-limited settings to develop sustainable solutions.
- Stress Testing Cold Chain Systems in Emergency Conditions
Module 7: Nutrition and Nutritional Safety – The Role of Cold Chain in Food Security and Health
- Preservation of Nutritional Value: Principles of nutrient retention and degradation in perishable foods (e.g., proteins, vitamins, enzymes) under various temperature conditions.
- Food Safety and Pathogen Control: The role of temperature control in preventing microbial growth and foodborne illnesses; HACCP principles and other food safety management systems in cold chains for food systems.Insights on prevalence of chemical and physical hazards in fresh produces that adversely impact health outcomes, control mechanisms of those hazards.
- Food Safety and Control of food toxins: The role of temperature ( and other physical factors such as relative humidity) control in preventing the buildup of toxins in food
- Cold Chain Applications in Nutritional Programs: Case studies on cold chain in school feeding programs, maternal and child nutrition initiatives, and emergency nutrition responses.
- Integration with Health Systems: Leveraging shared infrastructure for health and food cold chains (e.g., vaccines and therapeutic foods co-distribution).
- Technologies for Nutritional Cold Chain: Use of smart packaging, IoT, solar cooling, and cold rooms for safely storing and transporting fortified foods, RUTFs, and fresh produce.
- Challenges and Solutions in LMICs: Addressing food spoilage, infrastructure gaps, and energy constraints; successful models from African contexts.
- Cross-cutting issues in increasing the consumption of fresh, nutritious food after establishing a reliable cold chain. Foresight of unexpected outcomes.
Module 8: Policy, Regulations and quality standards - current gaps and opportunities in cold chain systems for global health products
- Overview of international guidelines (e.g., ISO, WHO, CDC, GxP) and regulatory compliance for transporting and storing temperature-sensitive products.
- Certification processes, audits, and best practices to ensure adherence to quality standards.
- Health Equity, Social Inclusion and cold-chain
Module 9: Funding mechanisms and business models for sustainable cooling and cold chain in Global Health
- Funding mechanisms and challenges for sustainable cooling and cold chain initiatives in global health, including public investments, concessional finance, and international support.
- Analysis of existing innovative business models and learn how to develop and contextualize innovative ones for sustainable cooling and cold chain solutions.
- Evaluation of the role of international organizations and initiatives in mobilizing finance and providing training for sustainable cooling projects.
How To Apply
Interested applicants must submit a single PDF document containing the following:
- A cover letter addressed to the Academic Head, ACES, explaining your motivation for attending the training
- A detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Short responses (max 150 words each) to the following questions:
- Do you have any background in using cold chains? If yes, please describe.
- How are you planning to implement the course-gained learning to change your current practices?
- Are there any potential barriers that may hinder your participation in this training? (This will be kept confidential and used to facilitate your participation.)
NOTE: ACES gives equal opportunities to people with different backgrounds and genders.