TheCable

ASKY, an airline headquartered in Togo, has joined Travel Alliance Africa CDC Trust, an African Union initiative, to ensure the continent gets its own digital platform for vaccine passports.

ASKY said it would join the African Union to promote the use of technology to reduce fraud in the health exams value chain, eliminate the costs of duplicate clinical trials and accelerate data collection to support evidence-based decision making in travel control.

According to a statement by the airline, improving the quality of travel regulatory management in Africa is expected to bring travel, tourism, trade, investment, cultural exchange, and pan-African integration back on an upward trajectory.

The airline said the partnership comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a new public health regime across the world, including digital transparency, and big data solutions to guide decision-making.

Ahadu Simachew, managing director of ASKY, said: “As an airline created to promote the socio-economic transformation of Africa, ASKY could not be more proud of its support and promotion of the leadership of Africa in the development and deployment, ahead of the rest of the world, of innovations which allow a total reopening of societies and economies, but which do so without leaving any African behind”.

Also, John Nkensagong, Africa CDC director, said: “The full commitment of Africa CDC and the commission of the African Union to support private sector leaders like ASKY, who not only express strong support for the continental public good and integration but put their resources where they are by helping to deploy pan-African solutions that make a difference — a real difference in the lives of Africans.”

On March 17, Ethiopian Airlines announced its partnership with Africa CDC for the implementation of the AU test and vaccine passport.