Cowin app is being used in India to monitor the vaccination drive.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday addressed the CoWin Global Conclave and offered a CoWIN platform as a digital public good to the world stage to combat COVID-19.
The Prime Minister began by conveying his condolences for all the lives lost due to the pandemic in several countries.
He said there is no parallel to such a pandemic in hundred years and no nation, however powerful, can solve a challenge like this in isolation.
"The biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic is that for humanity and the human cause, we have to work together and move ahead together. We have to learn from each other and guide each other about our best practices.” Said the Prime Minister.
Underlining India’s commitment to sharing experiences, expertise, and resources with the global community, the Prime Minister also expressed India’s eagerness to learn from global practices.
Emphasizing the importance of technology in the fight against the pandemic, Mr. Modi said that software is one area in which there are no resource constraints. That's why India made its Covid tracking and tracing the App open source as soon as it was technically feasible.
He pointed out that with nearly 200 million users, the 'Aarogya Setu' app is a readily available package for developers. Having been used in India, the Prime Minister told the global audience, you can be sure that it has been tested in the real world for speed and scale.
The Prime Minister said that given the importance of vaccination, India decided to adopt a completely digital approach while planning its vaccination strategy.
"This helps people in proving that they have been vaccinated, expediting the normalcy in the post-pandemic globalized world."
A safe, secure, and trustworthy proof helps people to establish when, where, and by whom they have been vaccinated. The Digital approach also helps in tracking the usage of vaccination and minimizes wastage.
In line with India’s philosophy of considering the whole world as one family, the Prime Minister said, Covid vaccination platform CoWin is being prepared to be made open source. "Soon, it will be available to all countries."
Mr. Modi stressed that today's Conclave is the first step to introduce this platform to the global audience.
The Prime Minister informed that through CoWin, India administered 350 million doses of Covid vaccines, including 9 million people in one day, a few days ago.
Furthermore, vaccinated people do not need to carry around fragile pieces of paper to prove anything. It is all available in digital format.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the customizability to the software as per the local requirements of the interested countries.
He concluded with the hope that guided by the approach of 'One Earth, One Health', humanity will certainly overcome this pandemic.
Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan also addressed the Conclave.
Official sources said that at least 50 countries, including, Canada, Mexico, and Panama, have shown interest in adopting the CoWin vaccination platform.
