Real-Time Cold Chain Monitoring. Every Dose Counts.
THE PROBLEM
Up to 50% of vaccines are wasted globally each year – costing $34.1 billion annually – largely due to inadequate temperature monitoring. In Eastern Province, clinic fridges are checked manually just twice a day, paper logs reach the district health office only at month’s end, and vials are stored in unlabeled Ziploc bags. Freezing is a recurrent failure mode that is systematically underreported. With Gavi investing $28 million to solarize Zambia’s health facilities, hundreds of new clinic fridges are coming online – and every one is a new unmonitored failure point.
THE SOLUTION
Two integrated products. (1) Sense-I: a real-time temperature monitoring device (GSM + LoRa fallback) that sends SMS alerts to clinic staff and the District Health Office when safe temperature ranges are breached. Every reading is automatically logged. (2) A modular vaccine tray that labels and organises vials by type, improving air circulation and preventing wrong-vial errors. Revenue model: upfront grant/donor funding for device deployment (mirroring Gavi/MOH cold chain procurement), plus ongoing lease and monitoring subscription billed to the DHO or Ministry of Health – not individual clinics. Beachhead market: 88 facilities in Katete and Chipata districts, within EWB Canada’s existing Eastern Province solar network.
APPROACH
IoT hardware + mobile app · MoH/DHO subscription model · Gavi-aligned procurement
FIELD RESEARCH
Katete & Chipata Districts, Eastern Province
TEAM MEMBERS
The Smart Monitoring for Rural Vaccines Clinic team members, left to right:
- Lucky Mumba · University of Zambia (UNZA) – 5th Year Metallurgical Engineering
- Esther Nyirongo · University of Zambia (UNZA) – 4th Year Electrical & Electronics Engineering
- Kabesha Kapaso · University of Zambia (UNZA) – Physiotherapy
- Musfirah Samad · Toronto Metropolitan University – Biomedical Engineering
- Samridhi Bhardwaj · Toronto Metropolitan University – Biomedical Engineering
- Srivaishnavi Batchu · Toronto Metropolitan University – Computer Engineering
