Kenya and Japan have jointly designed a fingerprint biometric management database for vaccination records of newborn babies.
Partners NEC and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) revealed that early stage clinal trials, held in March 2023, were encouraging to suggest the system was valid and could be implemented to improve efficiencies in vaccination management in both healthcare systems.
The trial tested the system for the first time in a hospital, which will manage infant fingerprint data linked to vaccination records from birth and be used to schedule upcoming vaccination appointments.
NEC is a juggernaut in IT and network technologies and KEMRI have collected the data of more than 300 caregivers through voice recognition and newborns by collecting their fingerprints since November 2022.
Professor Sam Kariuki, Acting Director General, Kenya Medical Research Institute called the project a “landmark study” that identifies newborns with a biometric and a vaccination management system within the first crucial 24 hours when often infant vaccinations are given shortly after birth.
“I am happy to announce that this tool will be validated by KEMRI researchers in partnership with Kinango Sub-County Hospital in Kwale, NEC Corporation and Nagasaki University” he confirmed.
“I expect that this vaccination management system, including newborn fingerprint biometric technology, will expand the coverage of vaccinations for children under 24 months old through accurate identification methods for mothers and children in Kenya. I also express great expectations for this research to act as a guideline for precise vaccination management featuring newborn and caregiver identification to become an important contributor to Universal Health Coverage”.
