Using Biometric Technology to Fight COVID-19

Guest post from Siobhan Wilson Green, Managing Associate, Digital & Data Governance & Transformation (DDGT) Portfolio Lead, IMC Worldwide

IMC Worldwide (with the support of FCDO, COVIDaction and Simprints) recently released our paper:  Using Biometric Technology to fight COVID-19.

What are biometrics?

Biometrics are a way to identify who you are or verify that you are who you say you are, through measurement of biological characteristics. These characteristics can be physiological or behavioral, including fingerprints, face, iris, retina, palm, palm veins, voice, signature, gait, etc. There are many different biometric methods, depending on what kind of characteristics are captured.

What do they have to do with COVID-19?

There are several ways that biometrics could support COVID-19 related MERL activities. Our white paper reviews three use cases:

• Vaccinations: Common problems experienced with COVID-19 vaccinations include verifying of COVID-19 vaccines, possibly by patient tracking for course completion. Biometrics can help this by tracking individuals against the immunization records, offering continuity of care where needed, and reducing potential fraud by increasing accountability.
• Clinical trials: Problems include cross-contamination between test and control groups, duplicate enrollments, and increased lost to follow up (LFTU) rates, especially for multi-year trials. Biometrics can help eliminate cross-contamination by using a unique biometric ID to ensure data integrity, minimize LTFU rates, and encourage sign-ups from those who do not wish to provide their real name due to risk of stigma.
• Emergency Aid and Distribution: Problems include risk of fraud via duplicate registrations and accusations of fraud or waste due to lack of valid data. Biometrics can help this problem by offering unique registration of participants in the program, unique identification and verification of participants during disbursements, and program progress tracking.

What risk of harm is there when using biometrics?

Biometrics are very powerful tools for identification and case management. However, they are also by default considered highly sensitive information for many reasons.

Risks with the use of biometrics include:

• Technology ineffective due to lack of reliable connectivity
• Technology ineffective due to lack of reliable electricity
• Technology ineffective in last-mile environment (heat, humidity, unpredictable light conditions)
• A beneficiary cannot give biometrics (e.g. due to lack of fingerprints)
• The algorithm fails to capture biometrics
• A beneficiary is misidentified
• Limited and non-existent privacy laws

How can we maximize benefits and reduce risks?

There are both benefits and risks to biometrics that need to be considered when deciding on using a biometric technology for a specific intervention. So, while biometrics have huge potential to address the issue of unique ID, not all forms of biometric technology will be appropriate within every context. Using biometrics in low-resource frontline environments is extremely challenging due to both physiological factors like scarred or burned fingerprints, and environmental factors like heat or humidity. Questions must also be raised around cultural appropriateness, infrastructure feasibility, and data security. The paper outlines potential benefits and provides a risk assessment framework.

To learn more about the use of Biometrics for MERL During COVID-19, join the interactive webinar on February, 23rd 2022 at 8am EST/ 1pm GMT/ 2PM Geneva time. Sign up here https://forms.gle/4bxNinhnFqgVbDxJ6