Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has assured that the Ghana Card would be recognized worldwide as an e-passport in the first quarter of 2022.
He however notes that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has approved the cards’ use as electronic passports beginning in the second quarter of 2022.
According to the Vice President, Wednesday, October 13, 2021, marked a milestone for Ghana as the country was officially received as the 79th member of ICAO.
Delivering a public lecture on Ghana’s digital economy, at the Ashesi University on Tuesday, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia revealed that with this step, the country’s primary identity document, in this instance, an e-passport, would be accepted as a form of identification for foreign travel.
“The Ghana card will be recognized as an e-passport and can be read and verified in all [International Civil Aviation Organization] ICAO compliant borders, that is 197 countries and 44,000 airports in the world. When this happens, holders of the Ghana card will be allowed to board any flight to Ghana.” He said
“Furthermore, the good news for diasporan Ghanaians is that when the Ghana Immigration Service is linked to the NIA architecture, diasporan Ghanaians who hold the Ghana card should not have to obtain visas to travel to Ghana.” He added.
He indicated that now, due to the digitalization drive, babies born in Ghana from next year will be issued National ID numbers at birth.
“Every newborn will within a month be issued with a national ID number,” He said.
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He also noted that there will be the integration of the birth and deaths register with the database of the Ghana Health Service, the National Identification Authority, the Ghana Statistical Service, immigration, and the police to have consistent records of the births and deaths across the aforementioned organizations.
Dr. Bawumia also hinted at plans by the government to launch an E-Pharmacy project to address challenges faced by members of the public in accessing medicines.
He explained that several patients spend long hours searching for pharmacies where they can obtain prescribed medications, sometimes at very expensive prices.
According to him, the E-pharmacy platform will offer the opportunity to everyone through a mobile phone to easily access the best and affordable medicines adding that the pilot of 45 pharmacies has already begun.
Source: ATLFMNEWS
