麻豆社

Norah Magero has become the first Kenyan to be awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering鈥檚 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. Her winning invention is a small, portable, solar-powered fridge, named Vaccibox, that safely stores and transports vaccines so they can be used in field vaccinations and at remote clinics. Vaccibox can also collect data from each location it visits, so helping to provide lasting healthcare solutions.

Vaccination programmes in some parts of Kenya can be seriously hampered by poor infrastructure and transportation problems, which makes it difficult to reach far-flung areas and often means children are not being adequately vaccinated. Vaccibox has provided an answer not only for the distribution of vaccines, but also keeping them at the right temperature. Norah Magero says the inspiration for the vaccine fridge came in part from her own experience of being a new mother and living in a rural community.

Photo: Norah Magero stands next to her portable vaccine fridge. Credit: RAEng/GGImages/AlissaEverett