WHO to expand on European Union digital COVID-19 certification system

June 5 (UPI) -- The World Health Organization said on Monday it will expand on the European Union's digital COVID-19 certification system for use globally which will facilitate mobility across a range of ongoing health threats and pandemics.

The WHO said the European model will be the first building block in creating the WHO Global Digital Health Certification Network.

The partnership will include close collaboration with the European Commission on the development, management and implementation of the WHO system. Officials said they hope the collaboration will lead to a wider range of digital tools that will help deliver better healthcare results around the world.

"Building on the EU's highly successful digital certification network, WHO aims to offer all WHO member states access to an open-source digital health tool, which is based on the principles of equity, innovation, transparency and data protection and privacy," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO's director-general said in a statement.

"New digital health products in development aim to help people everywhere receive quality health services quickly and more effectively."

The entities said the move builds on the initiative they struck last November to take advantage of what they learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to enhance strategic cooperation on global health issues.

"This partnership is an important step for the digital action plan of the EU Global Health Strategy," Stella Kyriakides, the EU's commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said in a statement. "By using European best practices we contribute to digital health standards and interoperability globally -- to the benefit of those most in need.

"It is also a powerful example of how alignment between the EU and the WHO can deliver better health for all, in the EU and across the world. As the directing and coordinating authority on international health work, there is no better partner than the WHO to advance the work we started at the EU and further develop global digital health solutions."

Last month, the World Health Organization declared an end to the global COVID-19 public health emergency but warned countries that the disease remained a global health threat. Ghebreyesus said then he made the call based on advice from the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee.