by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D., Childrens Health Defense:
According to the Kenyan Daily Post, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s role in assisting the Kenyan government in its development and rollout of a government-backed digital ID program was announced after a recent series of “closed-door meetings” with Kenyan President William Ruto.
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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is continuing its global push to support government-backed digital ID programs — this time setting its sights on Kenya, where it will advise the government on that country’s “Maisha Namba” digital ID initiative currently under development, Reclaim the Net reports.
According to the Kenyan Daily Post, Gates’ role in assisting the Kenyan government in its development and rollout of Maisha Namba was announced after a recent series of “closed-door meetings” with Kenyan President William Ruto.
“The billionaire, who is known to champion GMO [genetically modified organism] foods, has met Ruto in a series of meetings since he came to power with most of the engagements shrouded in secrecy,” the Kenyan Daily Post wrote.
“The deal will connect the government to key technical experts and partners who will offer professional advice to guarantee a smooth rollout,” Kenyans.co.ke reports.
Alexis Hancock, director of engineering for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told The Defender that such secrecy between governments and private entities is common.
“Outside companies often pitch solutions to various governments that they can solve their problem with their product,” she said. “If governments are to implement this, the technology involved should be allowed scrutiny by the people first before anything is deployed, and delayed if it is not considered safe and equitable.”
According to Biometric Update, Maisha Namba is “expected to address different challenges such as identifying and authenticating citizens, safeguarding primary registration documents such as birth certificates and national identity cards and improving the management of social programmes and government operations.”
The identification number attached to Maisha Namba “will also be used to register for government services, including education, health insurance, tax and social security.”
But some experts said they believe the Maisha Namba program has other, unannounced, aims. Dr. Wahome Ngare, chairman of the Kenya Catholic Doctors Association, told The Defender that Maisha Namba will operate as a vaccination tracking program.
“Maisha Namba — Kiswahili for ‘life number’ — is a biometric vaccination system for newborns that will replace birth certificates and help track children from birth to 5 years of age,” Ngare said. “It will be used to monitor and ensure all children receive their vaccines.”
Ngare said the Maisha Namba trial was conducted between February and March and is now being rolled out by the government, most likely as part of Universal Health Coverage.
He attributed Gates’ involvement with Maisha Namba to the involvement of entities such as Microsoft and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Gavi says it “helps vaccinate almost half the world’s children against deadly and debilitating infectious diseases.” It was established in 1999, with the Gates Foundation as one of its co-founders and one of its four permanent board members.
Gavi maintains a core partnership with UNICEF, the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), which includes Gavi in its list of “relevant stakeholders.”
“On a deeper level and based on my understanding, Maisha Namba and the Maisha card are part of the larger international ID2020 initiative, sponsored by Gates through Gavi and Microsoft and their failed vaccine passport,” he said.
“For this reason, the full value and pain of the digital ID system will become known when the next pandemic is announced by the World Health Organization, especially if the International Health Regulations are adopted next year,” Ngare added.
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