HID Global launches massive initiative to ensure African citizens secure personal ID cards and their privileges

It is essential that governments be able to issue identification credentials so citizens can exercise their civic rights and duties, access programs and services, and travel freely to and from other countries. HID Global, globally renowned trusted identity solutions, has enabled numerous African countries to issue millions of these credentials as the company helps to propel a variety of initiatives across the continent aimed at providing “identity for all.”

Secure ID card issuance

“Secure issuance is a key part of our identity portfolio that is helping nations in Africa and other emerging economies close a big gap between citizens who have a legal way to identify themselves and those who don’t,” said Craig Sandness, Vice President & Managing Director – Secure Issuance with HID Global. We are also actively involved in designing programs for civil servants to securely access government buildings"

He adds, “Our successes in Africa range from Angola’s voter ID card program to deployments in multiple countries that enable governments to issue national IDs, driver’s licenses, health cards, work permits and refugee identification credentials. We are also actively involved in designing programs for civil servants to securely access government buildings and government assets such as PCs or server rooms.”

HID Global identification program

For many countries, an e-Passport is the building block of democracy and cornerstone of citizenship as their first step to launching an identification program. HID Global’s secure issuance offering spans all aspects of creating and managing these and other credentials and issuing them wherever citizens are located.

Notable deployments in Africa include:

• Resident, Healthcare and other National IDs: Eight African countries have either deployed or are developing one or more of these ID card programs using HID Global printers. Several are also in the early stages of deploying systems for issuing government employee ID cards for use by members of their military and police forces.
• Voter IDs: Angola used HID FARGO DTC5500LMX printers to roll out a voter ID program in over 200 municipalities and cities across the country. Over 650 systems were deployed in Angola to issue over 8 million cards in less than 8 months.
• ePassports: Several countries in Africa are using HID Global’s ID personalisation systems for ePassports that provide successful identification and an easier travel experience for citizens.
• Driver’s Licenses: HID Global’s decentralised driver’s license issuance solution is being used by several African governments. Noticeably, one country is using these solutions to speed program deployment for over 25 million citizens. The company is also supplying pre-printed smart cards that include various overt and covert security features. The cards are then personalised locally with photo, variables data, custom holographic laminate and owner biometrics using FARGO HDP5000 printers.
• Refugee Identification: HID Global is working with international organisations to help connect African refugees with vital resources in multiple countries. HID FARGO HDP8500 and HDP5000 printers are being deployed at refugee camps to issue the necessary credentials for accessing food, water, shelter, financial aid and educational and other services.
• Student IDs: The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is using HID FARGO Direct-to-Card ID card printers/encoders to improve the efficiency, accuracy and integrity of its educational testing program for more than 2 million students annually.

HID FARGO Connect solution

HID FARGO Connect solution enables ID cards to be issued from anywhere and any device via a web interface

The latest additions to HID Global’s portfolio address the challenges African nations face in issuing credentials to remote locations while also serving high-volume needs of large metropolitan areas. The company’s HID FARGO Connect solution enables ID cards to be issued from anywhere and any device via a web interface in a trusted environment, changing the paradigm for governments whose citizens live in distant, hard-to-reach locations with limited infrastructure.

For governments that need to meet the needs of large metropolitan populations, the new HID FARGO HDP6600 printer offers the world’s fastest retransfer throughput for ID card personalisation.