UK researchers to test a blockchain certification to manage COVID-19 health risks

Researchers are now testing a new blockchain-based certificate that’s designed to manage and mitigate coronavirus risks across supply chains. In a recent statement, Professor Nassim Belbaly, director of Birmingham City Business School, noted that “coronavirus represents a crisis of trust because we cannot any longer automatically trust goods or suppliers.”

Secure and automated solutions are, therefore, being used to reassure users and suppliers that goods across the value chain do not pose any health risks. To tackle these issues caused by the pandemic, a newly-launched “Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies Centre” is testing a blockchain-based Coronavirus Clearance Certificate (CCC), issued by The Transnational Transparent Procurement Foundation (TTPF) in the UK. 

Reportedly, the CCE certificate can be issued to products, organizations and even people to confirm that they have adhered to the necessary steps to mitigate risks from coronavirus. Olinga Taeed, a visiting professor of blockchain at Birmingham City University, said:

[The certificate] confirms that a supplier adheres to highest standards of public health, sustainability, anti-bribery and even modern slavery. And in this case, we can verify the level of supply risk due to the coronavirus. It represents the future of supply chain management.

The certificate will initially be tested in the UK Midlands - a region that has been severely affected by the pandemic.