WILLEMSTAD - Developing the website and the upcoming Curaçao Health App cost 521,000 guilders. The government has deliberately chosen to develop its own application, so that it can later be used for other purposes. Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature (GMN), Sharlon Melfor, reports this after questions from the media during the press conference.
“355,000 guilders have been set aside for the application, of which 240,000 guilders has been paid to technicians. Another 115,000 guilders has been made available for those who will assess the applications and manage the helpdesk in the coming six months,” explains Melfor. “The annual costs will be 166,000 guilders because the app has now been developed for Covid-19 but can also be used for other things in the future.”
The Curaçao Health App and the website can therefore be used later by the Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature. Everyone who registers will receive a unique QR code. The code cannot be used by others as it must always be identified with an identity document of the person in question.
According to Melfor, a lot of attention has been paid to security and privacy. “The data ends up in a database that is well secured. That has also been an additional cost item," said the secretary-general.
According to Melfor, the investment does not come from liquidity support from the Netherlands and other budgets made available to combat the corona virus. The website and the app have been developed in close consultation with the Netherlands.