In Bangladesh only 31% of children have birth registration certificates, the lowest compared to other Asian countries, reveals a study.
Conducted by the World Vision, the study says more than 135 million children aged below five in Asia do not have birth certificates at all. Besides, nearly two out of every three births are not registered in Asia.
Only three Asian countries – Japan, Thailand and South Korea – register every single child while 41% children are registered in India, 72% in Myanmar and 42% in Nepal.
The percentage of birth registration was found to be over 90% in three countries – Vietnam (95%), Sri Lanka (97%) and Mongolia (99%).
Ministers from more than 40 countries in the region are scheduled to ink an agreement on acquiring birth certificates at the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics. The five-day conference that started in Bangkok yesterday will end on November 28.
Chief Executive of World Vision Australia Tim Costello said an estimated 250 to 500 million people around the world remain legally invisible due to a lack of documentation.
“This is also a key reason why too many people do not have their names on the list of many essential government services, including education, health and protection. We envision a universal, free and legal identity system to make sure that all newborns have legal documents proving their identities,” he said.
The study says children without birth certificates are less likely to get medical treatment when they are ill, and are also in greater risk of being trafficked and working in unsafe environments.
Usually, children from the poorest households have been found to be less likely to have birth certificates, which makes it harder for them to get legal protection and enrol in school.
Advocacy Director of World Vision Bangladesh Chandan Z Gomez told the Dhaka Tribune that the percentage of birth registration in Bangladesh is very low despite the fact that this is necessary and mandatory.
“At the conference, Saarc member countries will reach an agreement to digitise birth registration while ensuring registration of every children. They will fix a target to accomplish the goal by 2024,” he said.
The Bangladeshi delegation that attended the conference includes Suraiya Begum, secretary of the Statistics and Informatics Division under the Ministry of Planning, Md Nazrul Islam, secretary-in-charge (coordination and reforms) of the Cabinet Division, Golam Mostafa Kamal, director general of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Md Aminul Bar Chowdhury, joint secretary of the Statistics and Informatics Division, Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman, deputy secretary of the Law d Justice Division under the Ministry of Law, Md Azimuddin Biswas, director of the Prime Minister’s Office, AKM Ashraful Haque, director of the MSVSB project under Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, and Md Mohasin Ali, director (operations) of the National Identity Registration Wing under the Election Commission Secretariat.
