If there was one country which has genuinely helped the world battle the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, it is India which has gone above its line of duty be it supplying HCQ or its vaccine diplomacy which ensured that the vaccines reached in the smallest and poorest of countries. Continuing with its policy of helping other countries battle the China made pandemic, India has now decided to share the open source of CoWIN with 50 countries showing interest in the platform as India’s tremendous pace of vaccination has the world gasping with adulation.
National Health Authority CEO RS Sharma has stated that the government will create an open source version of CoWIN to let other countries use it free of cost. The application is all set to go global with over 50 countries expressing interest in adopting the technology.
“Over 50 countries from across Central Asia, Latin America and Africa, are interested in this #technology. @PMOIndia has directed us to create an open-source version of CoWIN free of cost to any interested country,” tweeted RS Sharma.
#CoWIN has become popular! Over 50 countries from across Central Asia, Latin America & Africa, are interested in this #technology. @PMOIndia has directed us to create an open-source version of #CoWIN free of cost to any interested country. #DigitalIndia #DigitalTransformation
— Dr. RS Sharma (@rssharma3) June 28, 2021
Sharma during an interview earlier this month stated that CoWIN can handle close to 2 crore vaccinations, and the platform can be scaled. He said, “Every transaction on the platform is done through API (application programming interface) and yesterday at 12:04 pm, we hit 30,000 hits a second. We got 1.38 million API calls in a minute. We should be able to cater to all the load that comes on the platform.”
He added, “India is at the cusp of a digital transformation, we have already done digital India, we are going to use this expertise on developing population-scale platforms to deliver services in agriculture, health, education and other areas. CoWin can be a good platform for vaccination for all kinds.”
Among the countries who have expressed interest in learning about the CoWIN technology to run their own Covid vaccination programmes are Vietnam, Peru, Mexico, Iraq, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Ukraine, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and Uganda. In a joint initiative by the Union ministries of health, external affairs and the National Health Authority, a virtual Co-WIN Global Conclave will be organised on June 30, which will see participation from health and technology experts representing countries across the globe
Especially when it comes to the vaccination of people between the ages of 18 and 45, the CoWIN platform has played an instrumental role in ensuring that vaccination centres do not get overcrowded, and that only those who have booked an appointment for themselves reach the centre on the specified date and time.
Read More: Impressed by India’s vaccination strategy, 20 countries will now adopt the CoWIN strategy
The CoWIN platform is helping India avoid chaotic scenes at vaccination centres, unlike in other countries, where people are having to reach the vaccination centres, get exposed to large crowds, be pushed and shove around and finally end up being told that the jabs at the given centre have been exhausted.
The Modi government deserves to be commended for preventing chaos around the country and for ensuring that citizens do not desperately scramble around for vaccines. India’s vaccination campaign is disciplined and digital. This is a bold deviation from the traditional methods of vaccination employed by even developed countries. Therefore, it is no surprise that countries from around the world want to learn the art of vaccinating from India.