The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Thursday, June 25, launched AIR SUVIDHA 2.0, an upgraded and fully contactless Passenger Health Self-Declaration Portal.
The upgraded platform, that came up in collaboration with Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), is aimed at enhancing public health surveillance at international Points of Entry amid rising concerns over ongoing Ebola outbreak, IANS quoted officials as saying.
This comes after the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration of the Ebola/Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on May 17. This has been done under the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005.
According to officials, the latest outbreak was confirmed as Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), with nations sharing borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda being categorised as high-risk areas for potential transmission.
“Developed in collaboration with the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the portal enables international arriving passengers to submit a mandatory online Health Self-Declaration — covering 21-day travel history, exposure history and related symptoms, if any — prior to immigration clearance,” officials said.
The portal has been designed for efficient health monitoring and ensure smooth and hassle-free experience for passengers arriving in India. Authorities shared that the upgraded system features real-time sharing of passenger data with multiple agencies, such as Airport Health Officer, Bureau of Immigration and others.