Simprints wants second pair of eyes on its biometrics plans in Ethiopia

A non-profit fingerprint recognition company is looking for a consultant’s help for work it’s doing on Ethiopia’s digital health care ID program.

Simprints has posted a request for bids on a contract for research consulting services including an assessment of ID verification needs that Simprints could address for the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and other agencies. The company, which specializes in projects in developing countries, has been helping Ethiopia deploy a biometric digital ID that links patients to digital records since 2019.

The FMoH-related assessment involves the Electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS). The eCHIS system was designed to improve client tracking and referrals as well as to report data that could help decision-makers improve health care. The project has already resulted in a suite of mobile applications which are currently being used by community health service providers in over 4,000 locations.

Simprints also wants the winning consulting firm to participate in creation of high-level proposal information that it can use for future fundraising. Last year, UK-based Simprints announced it had been awarded its largest-ever grant, which allowed it to hire staff in Bangladesh for a project that helped increase vaccination coverage among rural and marginalized communities.

Bidders must submit technical proposals with budgets and a timeframe by September 17, 2023.

Simprints’ partners include charity and humanitarian organizations, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Mercy Corps and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and companies such as Arm, Autodesk and NEC. In June, the company issued a new guide on biometric technology, called the Responsible Biometric Deployment Handbook.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  Ethiopia  |  SimPrints  |  tender