Ghana Plans Contactless Biometrics for Vaccination Program

The Ghana Health Service, in partnership with the vaccine alliance Gavi and Arm’s network of partners, engineers and developers, will begin a biometric-based national vaccination program in October 2021 using contactless technology from non-profit UK technology company Simprints. Starting in the Eastern region, the project is reportedly the first national vaccination scheme to use contactless biometrics.

After initially dispensing COVID-19 vaccinations, the system will move on to incorporate other routine vaccinations as a function of the Ghana Health Service aim for universal health coverage.

Gavi, the vaccine alliance, brings the immunisation expertise to administer vaccines, including for COVID-19, in a trackable way via biometric records created with Simprints technology, supported by Arm’s input, funding and global network.

After trialling technologies for contactless fingerprint and facial recognition, the project will use low-cost Android smartphones in the field to make the initiative as easy and cheap as possible to roll out.