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

The document examines how the lack of a harmonised digital identification system in West Africa hindered the free movement of people and goods during the Ebola epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic. It proposes that the ECOWAS Commission create a framework for digital ID interoperability and a 'health passport' linked to digital IDs to prevent future border closures and economic disruptions. The author suggests leveraging existing initiatives like the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC) and the West Africa Unique Identification for Regional Integration and Inclusion (WURI), while drawing on successful regional models from the EU's Digital COVID Certificate and ASEAN's Universal Verification Mechanism. The paper specifically recommends that the West African Health Organization (WAHO) lead the digital health trust initiative and that the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) be included in the network to ensure regional health security.

• Public health crises, specifically the 2010s Ebola virus epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic, exposed critical weaknesses in the ECOWAS free movement regime, including a lack of a harmonised digital identification system and a reliance on uncoordinated nationalist measures like border closures and mass deportations.
• While regional ID initiatives exist, they have not yet created a subregional health information exchange. The ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC), adopted in 2014, has seen staggered adoption: Senegal in 2016, Ghana in 2017, and Nigeria planning a rollout in 2024, though Nigeria's distribution is limited by budget constraints.
• The West Africa Unique Identification for Regional Integration and Inclusion (WURI), a 2018 partnership between ECOWAS and the World Bank, is being used by Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Togo to deploy digital biometric IDs and registries recognized across the subregion.
• The author proposes a regional digital health certification framework where vaccine and test data are linked to digital IDs to prevent fraud and ensure authenticity, suggesting that the West African Health Organization (WAHO) should coordinate this health trust framework.

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} }