A WHO blockchain Coronavirus data hub is currently under development by IBM and Oracle to verify the authenticity of data pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of unfiltered information has been flowing about the current pandemic. To streamline and authenticate such a vast amount of data, the World Health Organization has partnered with tech giants IBM and Oracle to create an open-source blockchain-based data hub.
Named MiPasa, the WHO blockchain Coronavirus data hub, will function like a Coronavirus information highway. Hacera, the firm responsible for creating the solution, said it would be an essential milestone to segregate and purposefully utilize the humongous COVID-19 data.
The chief executive officer of Hacera, Jonathan Levi, informed that MiPasa would further evolve to support more data analytics tools. Hyperledger Fabric technology is used to collect and quantify data, which can also be studied using a host of analysis tools for accurate detection of Coronavirus hotspots. He added that currently, there aren’t many tools to collect, quantify, and analyze COVID-19 data to make an informed decision. The WHO blockchain Coronavirus data hub can change all this. Health organizations cannot deal with such a global pandemic without the right data, analysis, and insights.
Usually, IBM takes a few months to assemble a blockchain tool of such magnitude. But in this case, IBM’s enterprise blockchain consortia bought together industry experts and began work quickly. Other notable partners to the project include the National Health Commission of China, Microsoft, Johns Hopkins University, and more.
Herculean efforts underway to process COVID-19 data
Gari Singh, the chief technical officer of IBM, said it was the need of the hour to develop solutions such as the WHO blockchain Coronavirus data hub that can help tackle this worldwide crisis. The team began the first phase by brainstorming ideas about virus data collection and processing. As the question of data authentication crept up, blockchain solutions were the natural choice to ensure that data cannot be tampered with during the replication process.
The ‘Call for Code’ initiative of IBM has been roped in to create innovative tech solutions that will aid in eliminating this pandemic. In the next few weeks, coronavirus testing data will form part of the MiPasa platform.
