The European Commission and the World Health Organization announced the launch of a digital health partnership. .“With almost 80 countries and territories connected to the EU [European Union] Digital COVID Certificate, the EU has set a global standard,” said European Commission Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton in a Monday press release. .“The EU certificate has not only been an important tool in our fight against the pandemic, but has also facilitated international travel and tourism.”.Breton said he is “pleased that the WHO will build on the privacy-preserving principles and cutting-edge technology of the EU certificate to create a global tool against future pandemics.”.The release said the WHO will take up the EU's digital COVID-19 certificates to establish a global system to facilitate mobility and protect people from ongoing and future health threats. It added this is the first building block of the WHO Global Digital Health Certification Network which will develop a wide range of digital products to deliver better health for all. .This initiative follows an agreement from December signed by European Commission Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides and WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to enhance co-operation on global health issues. The plans are meant to bolster a robust multilateral system with WHO at its core, powered by a strong EU. .Kyriakides called EU digital COVID-19 certificates “an essential tool for safe travel during the COVID pandemic.”.“It is emblematic of a European Health Union that can deliver tangible benefits for citizens,” she said. .“With this landmark partnership with the WHO, we are scaling up EU innovation in digital health to deliver safe mobility for all citizens across the globe.”.One of the key elements in the EU’s COVID-19 response has been digital certificates. To facilitate free movement within its borders, the EU created them. .From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO engaged with all areas to define guidelines for these certificates. To help strengthen global health preparedness to combat growing health threats, the release said it is establishing a certificate network which builds upon the foundations of previous certificates’ frameworks, principles, and open technologies. .It said this partnership will work to develop the WHO system with a staged approach to cover additional use cases, which might include the digitization of the international certificate of vaccination and disease prevention. Expanding these solutions will be essential to deliver better health for people around the world. .This cooperation is based on the shared values and principles of transparency and openness, inclusiveness, accountability, data protection and privacy, security, scalability at the global level, and equity. The European Commission and the WHO will work together to encourage maximum global uptake and participation. .“Building on the EU’s highly successful digital certification network, WHO aims to offer all WHO member states access to an open-source digital health tool, which is based on the principles of equity, innovation, transparency and data protection and privacy,” said Ghebreyesus. .“New digital health products in development aim to help people everywhere receive quality health services quickly and more effectively.”.Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney said in 2022 he did not know where questions about a digital identity were coming from — despite the provincial government having a job posting to oversee services like digital identity and payments. .READ MORE: Alberta hiring digital ID director.Kenney called plans to implement a digital ID an “internet, urban legend.”.The Alberta government said it was hiring an executive director, platforms to “build and manage platform services like digital identity, digital payment, notification and engagement, user-experience data collection, and content and document management.”
