Eurasian Development Bank wins ADFIAP Sustainable Award for COVID-19-Free Travel App

ALMATY, Kazakhstan–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) received a Sustainable Award in the Technology Development category for its COVID-19-Free Travel app from the Association of Development Financing Institution in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP).

The award ceremony took place on the sidelines of the ADFIAP Annual Meeting in Manila, Philippines on October 26.

“The EDB joined the ADFIAP only this year, and it means a great deal to us to have one of our projects recognized. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we managed in a concise space of time to bring together the public health agencies of our countries to resolve how we could ensure one of the fundamental freedoms of our citizens – the freedom of movement. The digital platform we developed made it possible to introduce a common regulatory framework and keep the borders between the countries of our region open at a time when other countries over the world were setting up individual entry rules,” said Nikolai Podguzov, Chairman of the EDB Management Board.

COVID-19-Free Travel is a flagship project of the EDB Fund for Digital Initiatives. The app was designed to enable people to travel freely and safely between the countries of the region where EDB operates during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The app reduces the risk of spreading the disease and provides a reliable system of cross-border controls.

COVID-19-Free Travel uses a unique architecture to exchange information across borders without sharing users’ personal data, which is stored only in the country where the test was conducted. This means that personal data can be protected by legislation in the relevant countries.

The project became successful due to the unique cross-sectoral competencies of the EDB Fund for Digital Initiatives – the only multilateral development fund in Eurasia that promotes digital transformation tools and practices.

The COVID-19-Free Travel app has already been installed on over 1.5 million smartphones. The number of uploaded PCR test results has exceeded 5 million.

Additional Information:

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution investing in Eurasia. For more than 16 years, the Bank has worked to strengthen and expand economic ties and foster comprehensive development in its member countries. The EDB’s charter capital totals US $7 billion. Its portfolio consists principally of projects with an integration effect in transport infrastructure, digital systems, green energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and mechanical engineering. The Bank’s operations are guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ESG principles.

Contacts

The EDB Media Centre:
pressa@eabr.org
www.eabr.org