Stärkung der Pandemieresilienz in der ECOWAS: Integration von Impfbescheinigungen in grundlegende Identitätssysteme

This research paper argues for the creation of a region-wide vaccine certification and verification system within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It proposes linking digital health passports to foundational digital IDs to prevent the border closures and economic disruptions seen during the Ebola epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic, drawing on successful models from the EU and ASEAN.

• Public health crises, specifically the 2010s Ebola virus epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed critical weaknesses in the ECOWAS free movement regime, including a lack of a harmonised digital identification system. This led to poorly coordinated nationalist responses such as border closures, flight bans, and mass deportations, which disrupted economic activity and the transport of perishable goods.
• ECOWAS has introduced initiatives for regional identification, such as the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC) in 2014 and the West Africa Unique Identification for Regional Integration and Inclusion (WURI) in 2018. While Senegal (2016), Ghana (2017), and Nigeria (planned for 2024) have moved toward adoption, and countries like Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Togo are using WURI for digital IDs, full adoption across all 12 members has not occurred.
• The paper recommends that ECOWAS establish a Regional Digital Health Certification Framework to link vaccine and test certificates to digital IDs. It suggests that the West African Health Organization (WAHO) should lead this digital health trust initiative to define data standards and oversee interoperability, potentially adapting models like the WHO’s Global Digital Health Certification Network.
• The author suggests that the certification network should include Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, despite their withdrawal from ECOWAS to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), because their combined population exceeds 70 million and health crises transcend political borders.

APA

Mills, L. N. L. (2025). Stärkung der Pandemieresilienz in der ECOWAS: Integration von Impfbescheinigungen in grundlegende Identitätssysteme. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/de/staerkung-der-pandemieresilienz-in-der-ecowas-integration-von-impfbescheinigungen-in-grundlegende-identitaetssysteme-en

Chicago

Mills, Leslie Nii Lantey. Stärkung der Pandemieresilienz in der ECOWAS: Integration von Impfbescheinigungen in grundlegende Identitätssysteme. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2025. https://afripoli.org/de/staerkung-der-pandemieresilienz-in-der-ecowas-integration-von-impfbescheinigungen-in-grundlegende-identitaetssysteme-en.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mills |first1=Leslie Nii Lantey |title=Stärkung der Pandemieresilienz in der ECOWAS: Integration von Impfbescheinigungen in grundlegende Identitätssysteme |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=11 November 2025 |url=https://afripoli.org/de/staerkung-der-pandemieresilienz-in-der-ecowas-integration-von-impfbescheinigungen-in-grundlegende-identitaetssysteme-en |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mills2025strkung, author = {Mills, Leslie Nii Lantey}, title = {{Stärkung der Pandemieresilienz in der ECOWAS: Integration von Impfbescheinigungen in grundlegende Identitätssysteme}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://afripoli.org/de/staerkung-der-pandemieresilienz-in-der-ecowas-integration-von-impfbescheinigungen-in-grundlegende-identitaetssysteme-en}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }