Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance selects Element as a 2018 INFUSE Pacesetter

Element was selected as a 2018 INFUSE Pacesetter, and will receive support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to scale its software-only biometric solution across low- and middle-income countries.

INFUSE (Innovation for Uptake, Scale and Equity in Immunisation) was launched at the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos to enhance vaccine delivery systems through high-impact innovation. This year, INFUSE sought to identify proven technologies that could accelerate immunization coverage by improving the formal identification, registration and verification of children.

"We are currently in the middle of a global identity crisis: tens of millions of children – especially those living in the most remote, impoverished communities – have no formal record of their existence,” said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “That represents an enormous impediment to Gavi’s mission of ensuring that every child worldwide receives the essential vaccines they need to survive and thrive. This year’s INFUSE Pacesetters are on the cutting edge of technologies that might help us overcome that challenge.”

INFUSE received more than 200 submissions, selecting Element and three others as Pacesetters after a rigorous review with assessors from organizations such as Accenture, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, ID2020, MasterCard, and the governments of Canada and France.

“We are thrilled to receive this recognition,” said Rebecca Distler, Director of Global Health Initiatives at Element. “It’s a validation of hard work, alongside our partners, to create the first biometric platform capable of following a person from birth to old age. Support from INFUSE will allow us to explore how mobile delivery of biometric ID can transform the way we deliver life-saving vaccines - by meeting people where they are, on the devices already in their hands.”

The INFUSE community includes influential leaders in business, health and government working toward a future where all children have access to lifesaving vaccines no matter where they live.

Element is proud to partner with Intellectual Ventures' Global Good Fund, ICDDRB, and Angkor Hospital for Children on the BioNIC initiative.

Read more from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Photo Credits: Andrew Pau / Gavi