A refrigerated truck carrying vaccines from Lagos may spend much of its journey standing still. Loading bays, fuel stations, checkpoints and traffic can all bring the vehicle to a halt, sometimes with the engine switched off.
Nigeria’s drug regulator has accounted for these moments in its distribution guidelines. That requirement has important consequences: not every refrigerated vehicle is suitable for pharmaceutical transport.
When assessing a carrier for medical deliveries, four questions matter:
Can the vehicle maintain the required temperature when parked?
Where are temperature sensors positioned?
Who responds when a reading moves outside the approved range?
Does the temperature record remain available after delivery?
This guide explores each question and explains what to look for in a reliable pharmaceutical road transport partner.
Cold chain logistics brings together the vehicles, packaging, monitoring systems and handover procedures needed to keep a medicine within its labelled temperature range, from the first storage facility to the final point of delivery.
On a Nigerian route, the most vulnerable moments may occur between logistics providers. One company might bring a shipment into the country, another may store it, and a third may deliver it to a pharmacy, hospital or primary health centre. At every handover, the receiving party needs confidence that the product has been handled correctly and that its temperature history is visible.
DHL designs its cold chain services to help close these gaps. Our approach includes validated packaging matched to the product, route and level of risk; lane risk assessments; and handling procedures covering the full journey. For inbound pharmaceutical shipments, DHL AirThermonet provides continuous monitoring throughout transit into Nigeria.
Nigeria’s Good Storage and Distribution Practice Guidelines, issued by NAFDAC and effective from 26 November 2024, set out requirements for vehicles used to transport temperature-sensitive medicines.
A refrigerated vehicle must be able to maintain the required temperature range across the ambient conditions expected throughout the year and along the intended route. That includes periods when the vehicle is moving and when it is parked with the main engine switched off.
Vehicles must also be qualified, calibrated and maintained, with the relevant records retained. These requirements are particularly important on Nigerian roads, where traffic, checkpoints and infrastructure constraints can extend a delivery well beyond the planned schedule.
A carrier appointed on a trip-by-trip basis may not have qualification evidence readily available for the specific vehicle it assigns. Rather than accepting a general statement about fleet capability, ask to see the qualification record for the truck and route involved.
DHL Global Forwarding offers road freight services in Nigeria alongside air, ocean and rail transport. Working withus can make it easier to coordinate the inbound shipment with the onward road journey.
The NAFDAC guidelines also require calibrated monitoring devices, with sensors positioned at points that represent potential temperature extremes inside the vehicle. Refrigerated vehicles must have alarms capable of warning the driver when temperatures move outside the approved range or when the refrigeration system fails. Doors must also be protected with security seals or equivalent measures to help prevent unauthorised access during transit.
Sensor placement matters. A single probe positioned in the wrong location could show a stable reading while another part of the load is exposed to temperatures outside the approved range. For that reason, sensor locations should be clearly documented and agreed as part of the transport arrangement.
An alarm is only useful when someone can respond to it. Ask who receives excursion alerts, whether anyone monitors them beyond the driver, and what actions should follow. DHL AirThermonet includes intervention management when temperature or humidity moves outside the agreed procedure. DHL’s broader cold chain services are supported by control towers that provide shipment visibility and intervention capability.
The Nigerian immunisation programme illustrates why temperature records need to remain accessible after a shipment leaves the vehicle.
OpenLMIS covers all 835 vaccine cold stores in Nigeria. Until recently, digital visibility largely ended at local government level, while approximately 20,000 primary health facilities continued to maintain stock records on paper.
The same challenge applies to temperature data. When selecting a carrier, ask whether logger data can be exported for each delivery and shared with the receiving facility. A temperature record should follow the product through the supply chain, just as shipment documentation does.
DHL LifeConEx provides real-time tracking, analytics and access to data for temperature-sensitive goods, helping customers maintain visibility from collection through delivery.
Temperature-sensitive healthcare supplies rarely involve a single shipment. Medicines, vaccines and other products often require regular replenishment, and repeat deliveries run more smoothly when commercial and operational arrangements are already established.
A DHL business account can give your team access to preferential rates, reliable shipping services, customs expertise and business advice. Open a DHL business account to get started.
NAFDAC Good Storage and Distribution Practices Guidelines for Pharmaceutical Products (PDF)
The Essentials of a Successful Cold Chain- DHL Global Forwarding - Nigeria
Pharma and Temperature Controlled Solutions – Air Freight – DHL Global Forwarding - Nigeria
Bringing Nigeria’s Vaccine Last Mile into View - VillageReach
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