Khatera is used to handling crying babies and anxious mothers.

Her work requires it. She is a vaccinator at Farah Provincial Hospital in western Afghanistan, vaccinating about 50 children every day. Khatera also teaches mothers about the importance of vaccines, reminding them of required follow-up visits to keep their babies up to date with all their doses.

"I have been doing this for 12 years and am very happy to work for the health of women and children," says Khatera.  

Maintaining a high-quality cold chain

Vaccines are sensitive to temperature and therefore require careful storage and transportation to keep them cold and potent until they reach children. If the temperature is too high or too low these life-saving doses can lose their ability to protect against disease.

In hospitals, where vaccines are kept in a refrigerator or a cold room until they are administered, round the clock power supply is critical.

With funds from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), UNICEF procured 13 generators[1] which are now being used in hospitals across Afghanistan to keep immunization services running smoothly for children. These generators also provide critical back-up electricity for other clinical services when required.