Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health, Mastercard, Gavi, and JSI partner to launch the Mastercard Wellness Pass solution. Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry aiming to create an inclusive digital economy globally. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. John Snow, Inc. is a global public health consulting organization aiming for higher health equity and enhancing individuals’ & community health.
The Wellness Pass is an interoperable and offline portable healthcare record system, accessible within a trusted network, that is available on the Mastercard Community Pass chip card. Patients who get healthcare services in the selected health facilities will receive the card. The solution will be implemented in several phases, first tracking COVID-19 vaccinations. It allows offline storage of patients’ medical data to increase the efficiency of primary healthcare. It will be implemented in chosen health facilities throughout Ethiopia over a 15-month pilot period.
The partnership allows Ethiopia to use private-sector technology and abilities to get access to essential healthcare delivered efficiently and effectively. The Wellness Pass contributes to Ethiopia’s national health response program by enabling patient care continuity through the portability of digitized health records. Health facilities can use contactless cards in both connected and offline environments. The portable health credentials will improve healthcare by decentralizing patient record keeping and allowing for more accurate recording, tracking, and patient adherence to vaccination cycles.
