New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, during a CoWIN global conclave, offered CoWIN, the vaccination tracking platform, as a 'digital public good' to other nations worldwide. The government’s decision to create an open-source version of the platform and share it with any country that wants to use it for free have received applauds globally.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Professor Harsh V Pant, Head Strategic Studies, Observer Research Foundation (ORF) said, “Indian government’s decision to create an open-source version of the CoWIN platform is largely in continuation with India’s policies when it comes to Covid-19, where it has always underscored the need for global cooperation in managing the challenge and in working together with other countries to contain the menace. Sharing of the CoWIN platform allows India to continue to be a responsible global stakeholder by helping other countries not only by supplying relevant medicines or vaccines but also to share relevant technology that makes it easier for nations to tackle the COVID-19 challenge”.
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“This development is important in the context where most of the countries have been very inward-looking, especially as compared to the developed world which is been reluctant to engage with the developing nations on this question. Therefore, it is certainly a very important aspect of India’s engagement with the world and the way India is differentiating its engagement. India wants to underscore its credentials as a responsible global stakeholder, as a provider of global public health goods as well as a responsible member of the international community that is willing to work particularly with those countries which are less fortunate”, he added.
As many as 50 countries including Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, and Uganda have shown interest in the adoption of the CoWIN platform.
Let us know what is CoWIN and why so many countries are interested in it:
What is CoWIN?
CoWIN stands for Covid Vaccine Intelligence Work which was launched in January 2021 by the Indian government when the vaccination drive began in the country. The website was specially created for beneficiaries and officials associated with the vaccination process. It also helps healthcare providers to keep a track of vaccine stocks and manage it as per requirement.
What one can do with the help of CoWIN?
The portal allows users to register through their mobile number on the CoWIN website and book a vaccination slot. The platform also allows the user to add four family members in their profile to book slots, thereby, facilitating more people to get vaccinated.
Apart from that, the users can download vaccination certificates which will soon become an important travel document for those travelling abroad and other parts of the country. The Ministry of External Affairs has also expressed hopes that the CoWIN certificate will also be recognized as valid proof of vaccination by other countries. The CoWIN platform also provides the option of editing any error in the vaccine certificate.
Link passport with vaccine certificate
One of the important features of the vaccine platform is that it offers the option of linking one’s passport with the Covid-19 certificate that can be helpful for Indians planning to travel abroad with the easing of Covid restrictions and countries lift their travel ban.
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How will the other countries be benefitted from India’s CoWin technology?
As announced by the Centre, CoWIN will be made open-source and would be available to any country that wants to use it for free, which means no intellectual property rights would be attached to it. The technology will be provided to countries as per their local requirement. The government also said that no commercial use or a repackaged form of the technology will be allowed.
Addressing the CoWIN conclave on Monday, organized by the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Health and National Health Authority, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined India’s commitment to sharing experiences, expertise and resources with the global community. He also expressed India’s eagerness to learn from global practices.
Modi pointed out that software is one area in which there are no resource constraints. He further reiterated that with nearly 200 million users, the Arogya Setu app is a readily available package for developers. Having been used in India, one can be sure that it has been tested in the real world for speed and scale.
It is worth noting that through the CoWIN portal, India has administered 350 million doses of Covid vaccines, including 9 million people in one day. A total of 36,58,03,983 people have registered on the CoWin portal as on July 5. On June 21, India administered close to 90,86,514 doses of Covid vaccines which is the highest in a day.
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