By Asmau Ahmad
European Commission on Monday said World Health Organization (WHO) will adopt the European Union’s system of digital COVID-19 certification in June 2023.
The commission said this was to facilitate global mobility and protect people worldwide from existing and possible health threats, with particular attention paid to low- and middle-income countries.
In a statement, the European Commission said the joint project will include close cooperation in the development, management and realization of the WHO system, using the European Commission’s technical and healthcare expertise.
The commission said the EU is set to start with ensuring that the current EU digital certificates continue to function effectively.
“This partnership will work to technically develop the WHO system with a staged approach to cover additional use cases, which may include, for example, the digitisation of the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis,” the document read.
The European Commission added that particular attention would be paid to “equitable opportunities” for the participation by low and middle-income countries.
On June 23, 2022, members of the European Parliament approved the extension of the validity of the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC) for another year until June 30, 2023.
