Kenya turns to Africa-CDC tool to check virus at airports

All inbound and outbound travelers to and from Kenya are now required to present digitally verified proof of a negative COVID-19 test. This requirement comes after the ministry of health announced on Tuesday it had adopted the Africa CDC Trusted Traveler Initiative, an online system designed to authenticate and verify travelers' COVID-19 certificates.

Mutahi Kagwe, Kenya's health cabinet secretary, said in a statement the codes will ensure integrity of presented certificates, which were previously presented on printed paper and were susceptible to forgery.

"Going forward, no traveler will depart from Kenya without verification of their certificates using the Africa- CDC Trusted Traveler Initiative process," Kagwe said, adding no laboratory in Kenya is permitted to issue COVID-19 certificates without the codes.

Last October, the African Union and Africa CDC approved the Africa CDC Trusted Traveler Initiative, a new digital application to assist travelers to comply with COVID-19 travel protocols. The tool was developed in partnership with technological firms Econet and PanaBios.

The applications which power the Africa CDC Trusted Travel initiative contain information about the latest travel restrictions and entry requirements, a database of authorized laboratories and vaccination compliance material. The use of the tool also eliminates the need for travelers to take repeated tests, so long as they are coming from a country that has also signed up for the initiative.

According to the ministry of health's directive, all passengers departing from Kenya are advised to visit authorized laboratories to take a COVID-19 test, where they will be issued a code confirming their test results. The Trusted Travel code will then be used by airlines and port health authorities for verification purposes.

"The passenger will receive a text message from the system and in addition, an email from the testing laboratory with a link to guide the passenger to generate a travel code," Kagwe said.

"In-bound travelers from countries yet to onboard the Africa CDC Trusted Travel initiative will use a toll made available through the UNDP-supported global haven partnership for COVID-19 test results and vaccine certificates verification," he added.

According to the Africa CDC, the tool contains information about the latest travel restrictions and entry requirements applicable to the entire stretch of the journey, a database of authorized laboratories and vaccination compliance information.

In addition, the tool will henceforth streamline the Africa CDC's mutual recognition protocol for COVID-19 testing and test results, and vaccination certificates for future COVID-19 vaccines as well as other diseases including yellow fever. The information on the tool is supplied by African Union Member States and validated by Africa CDC.

Kagwe assured Kenyans the new digital services will be provided to citizens and related government agencies free of charge as a result of cooperation with the African Union and the Africa CDC.

"All valid COVID-19 test laboratories in Kenya have been on boarded to the Africa CDC Trusted Travel system. Therefore, I want to inform travelers to ensure they visit an authorized laboratory in order to be issued Trusted Travel codes that can be verified by airlines and port security authorities, in order to travel smoothly," Kagwe said.