The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is continuing its global push to support it’s so called government-backed digital ID programs, this time setting its sights on Kenya, where it will advise the government on that country’s “Maisha Namba” digital ID initiative currently under development.
According to a Kenyan news agency, Gates’ role in assisting the Kenyan government in its development and rollout of Maisha Namba was announced after a recent series of closed-door meetings with Kenyan President William Ruto.
According to Biometric Update, Maisha Namba is supposedly expected to address different challenges such as identifying and authenticating citizens, safeguarding primary registration documents such as birth certificates and national identity cards and improving the management of social programmes and government operations.
The project has been met with skepticism in some parts of the country. Rights groups have also been expressing concern over the possibility of discrimination and the erosion of privacy.