Islamabad, Oct 24: The UN’s WHO has gone a long way in protecting the health of hajj travelers, through enhancing its digital health certification network.
This program is focused on simplification of the system of medical certification for the pilgrims who arrive in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, which is holding one of the largest concentrations of the population in the world.
With the aid of digital health certification, WHO is assisting in bringing the health records of millions of people into the present through digitization and substantial record security, particularly the records of these travelers, guaranteeing that essential health information can be disclosed and authenticated.
WHO adds to its Digital Health Certification Network for the Hajj to ensure every performer of this religious ritual is protected from the spread of communicable diseases through appropriate immunization.
This has been sparked by growing world through traffic where millions of people, many of whom are pilgrims, assemble for Hajj, hence any outbreak can be and is dangerous.
Simplifying Health Documentation
Since WHO continues to grow the Digital Health Certification Network for Hajj pilgrims, the intention is to bring more efficacy in paperwork for both the pilgrims and the healthcare professional.
In the past, Hajj pilgrims were allowed to carry printed health status, vaccination card and other medical fold papers legal documents which used to be physically checked at the borders and checkpoints.
Eliminating paper-based records completely minimizes the risk of fraud, as well as makes it possible to check a pilgrim’s health status in realtime.
The medical documents are kept as encrypted and secure, so that, any authority of any point of travel may promptly access your health paperwork.
This system does not only improve efficiency but also effectiveness by reducing possibility of mistakes or omission that may jeopardize health of the pilgrims during the Hajj exercise.
Strengthening Global Health Security
The WHO adds Digital Health Certification Network for hajj pilgrims as part of its annual response to the promotion of global health safety. As more realized global threats of pandemics and other communicable diseases, it is critical to observe or enforce the public health in threat prone regions.
The hajj, through which more than 180 countries are represented, poses particular problems in the area of health threats.
Through online health certifications, WHO is guaranteeing that all pilgrims are healthy for the journey and have undergone recommended immunization exercises like; meningitis, polio, and influenza amongst others. This system enables health authorities to monitor (and ensure) that all travelers have had the right vaccinations before they arrive in KSA.
This not only offers safety to this individual pilgrim but also reduce cases of diseases once in hajj or after coming back to their respective countries.
Therefore, the WHO new members’ addition to the Digital Health Certification Network for hajj pilgrims during the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial than ever.
Decentralized coordination is a weak point in system organization during the pandemic and the Hajj is no exemption, calling for strict health measures.
With help of digital health certificates WHO guarantees that every pilgrim was vaccinated against COVID-19 and other diseases to prevent new outbreaks. Digital certification also made contact tracing and any corresponding health concerns considerably simplified.
This means that in the case of an outbreak, the authorities will be in a position to easily identify those affected persons, prevent the virus from spreading and thus make the Hajj pilgrimage a safe affair to all the travelers.
Future Implications for Global Health
The extension of WHO’s Digital Health Certification Network for HAJJ pilgrims is a model for further international travel and health operations.
As international travelling is set to commence in post Covid-19 era, some countries are likely to emulate this system in order to protect their citizens.
Electronic health records could turn into an approach of the International Health Travel standard where health documentation will be easier and global health surveillance improved.
