United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has announced the launch of the “global digital health certification network”.
This network aims to monitor and manage global movements, particularly during “public health emergencies” such as the Covid-19 pandemic, exerting more control during potential future crises.
This initiative has been framed as a tool for supervising global economic activity and compliance with government directives.
Freedom movements say that the network’s use may extend to confirming individuals’ vaccination status or adherence to other public health measures, effectively determining who can participate in commerce.
Ghebreyesus described this system as the first building block of an infrastructure intended to have a global scope.
Critics, however, have raised concerns about its implications for individual freedoms and privacy and questioned whether this could be a prelude to even more extensive systems of control.
The media portrays this move as a step towards enhancing “global health security”.
The question remains, however, as to how this network will balance public health needs with individual rights.