Gavi, NEC en Simprints gaan ‘s werelds eerste pasklare identificatieoplossing voor kindervingerafdrukken implementeren om de inenting van kinderen in ontwikkelingslanden te stimuleren
TOKYO-(BUSINESS WIRE)- Gavi, de Vaccin Alliance, NEC Corporation en Simprints Technology Ltd. hebben een memorandum van overeenstemming ondertekend over het gebruik van biometrie om de vaccinatiegraad in ontwikkelingslanden te verbeteren.
Ondanks de enorme vooruitgang in de afgelopen twee decennia zijn er nog steeds ongeveer 20 miljoen kinderen (*1) die wereldwijd geen basisvaccins krijgen, waardoor ze worden blootgesteld aan enkele van ‘s werelds dodelijkste ziekten.
Een belangrijke oorzaak is het feit dat slechts de helft van alle kinderen onder de 5 jaar in sub-Sahara Afrika momenteel bij de geboorte is geregistreerd, waardoor veel kinderen geen officiële identiteit hebben. Dit maakt het moeilijk voor gezondheidswerkers om ervoor te zorgen dat deze kinderen op het juiste moment de vaccins krijgen die ze nodig hebben.
Gavi, NEC, and Simprints to Deploy World’s First Scalable Child Fingerprint Identification Solution to Boost Immunization in Developing Countries
TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, NEC Corporation, and Simprints Technology Ltd. have signed a memorandum of understanding on the use of biometrics to improve immunization coverage in developing countries.
Despite enormous progress over the past two decades, there are still approximately 20 million children (*1) who do not receive a basic course of vaccines worldwide, leaving them exposed to some of the world’s deadliest diseases.
One key cause is the fact that only half of all children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa are currently registered at birth, leaving many without an official identity. This makes it difficult for health practitioners to ensure these infants get the vaccines they need at the right time.
Guided by Gavi’s experience and expertise in immunization, this new project will combine Simprints’ biometric fingerprint technology and NEC’s reinforced authentication engine to help create digital identities for children 1-5 years of age and boost immunization coverage in developing countries.
This new partnership will deploy the world’s first scalable fingerprint identification solution to give children aged 1-5 a digital ID linked to an accurate, complete medical record. All biometric records will be stored securely by Simprints, a UK-based non-profit social enterprise, after caregivers give informed consent to taking their children’s biometric data.
Implementing this plan with conventional extraction and matching engines would be very challenging, since young children’s fingerprints tend to be blurred due to their softness. NEC’s fingerprint authentication engine has overcome this issue, with optimization for infant fingerprints and the use of fingerprint images taken with Simprints scanners. This combination has resulted in highly accurate authentication, with a certification rate of 99% (*2).
The three partners will begin carrying out proof of concept validation of the technology in Bangladesh and Tanzania by early 2020. If successful, the project will then progress to linking children’s digital identity with their vaccination record, helping health practitioners to track which children need to be vaccinated and when.
To date, Gavi has contributed to the immunization of over 700 million children in the world’s poorest countries, and an estimated 10 million lives have been saved.
This initiative helps to promote the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations.
https://www.nec.com/en/press/201906/global_20190606_01.html
| (*1) | Source: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance | |
| (*2) | According to NEC research | |
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190605006063/en/
Contacts
NEC Corporation
Joseph Jasper
Corporate Communications Division
j-jasper(at)ax.jp.nec.com