Oracle launches cloud vaccine management in Africa

By Georgia Wilson
In partnership with the Tony Blair Institute, Oracle has brought cloud technology to Africa to manage public health programs...

Together with the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), Oracle has been collaborating to bring cloud technology to Africa to manage its public health programs.

Initially to be used in Ghana, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, the three countries will use Oracle’s Health Management System to create electronic health records for their vaccination programs. Records created will include vaccinations for yellow fever, HPV polio, measles and COVID-19 (as soon as the vaccine is distributed to Africa. 

Both TBI and Oracle are in discussion with over 30 other countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America to evaluate the use of cloud systems to manage COVID-19 vaccination programs around the world. 

“Since February of this year, the Africa Union and Member States have worked tirelessly together to address the impact of COVID-19 on the continent. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, partnerships such as this one with Oracle, TBI and various governments are critical to the strengthening of Member State public health institutions, not only to incorporate innovative technology but to proactively and urgently harmonize the collection and sharing of important testing data across the continent,” commented Dr. John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

TBI has been providing African governments with policy advice and hands on support to tackle the complex challenges presented as a result of COVID-19.

Its latest partnership with Oracle comes as part of its efforts to help the region, delivering cloud technology to digitise and unify national health data, starting with vaccinations. 

Oracle’s system is reported to be highly secure, and can be quickly configured to interoperate with existing technology, as well as meet their stringent data sovereignty requirements. Those that participate will have access and support for the system free of charge for the next 10 years.

“This is an immensely exciting and potentially ground-breaking initiative for recording information on all disease vaccinations and treatments in African nations. Though Africa has coped well with COVID-19, it still needs to be part of international efforts to control the disease, including for international travel. That means vaccination of at least a significant portion of the population, requiring the highest quality data system so that everyone’s vaccine experience is recorded. Oracle can provide that system with data securely stored and owned by each country and is prepared to do so as part of a global philanthropic partnership,” added Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of TBI and the former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 

We will be living with COVID-19 for some years, and the recording of data will be vital in managing its impact and spread. And one thing is clear from this crisis: applying new technology solutions has applications for the digitization of the entire economy and is crucial for the acceleration of African development. This initiative is a great test case, and my Institute is proud to be part of it.”

“The Oracle Health Management System is currently being used by the U.S. government and large healthcare and research organizations to monitor COVID-19 patient symptoms, responses to treatments, and to screen volunteers for COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials. By working with Tony and his team over a period of a few months, we were able to deliver the exact same 21st century cloud technology to Ghana, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. This is the first time vaccine data has been stored in a cloud database on a national scale. Africa is leading the way,” added Oracle Chairman and CTO Larry Ellison.

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