Immunity credentials using self-sovereign identity for combating COVID-19 pandemic

Area of Science:

• Digital Identity Solutions
• Public Health Informatics
• Socioeconomic Inclusion

Background:

• Refugees and migrants often lack official documentation, rendering them invisible to governments and excluded from essential services.
• The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the vulnerability of this population due to economic disruption and lack of access to aid.
• Limited legal identity prevents access to government support, welfare programs, and informal sector opportunities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the application of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) for improving the inclusion of refugees and migrants.
• To assess SSI's potential in providing legal identity and facilitating access to welfare and support systems.
• To review SSI's role in managing public health data, such as vaccination or testing status, during pandemics like COVID-19.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) models.
• Analysis of SSI's technical features, including user control, interoperability, privacy, and security.
• Examination of potential use cases for SSI in humanitarian contexts and public health crises.

Main Results:

• SSI can provide a secure, immutable, and user-controlled digital identity for marginalized populations.
• Implementation of SSI can bridge the identity gap, enabling refugees and migrants to access government and NGO services.
• SSI offers a robust mechanism for verifying health status (e.g., COVID-19 vaccination/testing) and enhancing pandemic response.

Conclusions:

• Self-Sovereign Identity presents a transformative solution for empowering refugees and migrants with verifiable digital identities.
• SSI integration can significantly enhance social inclusion and equitable access to critical services, particularly during health emergencies.
• The study highlights SSI's potential to improve public health management and support vulnerable populations in crisis situations.