ISLAMABAD: Telenor Pakistan and the Unicef have handed over the Digital Birth Registration (DBR) system to the Punjab government.
After its successful launch and implementation in five pilot districts, the local government in the Punjab is now all set to take over the Digital Birth Registration project and scale it across the province.
The project transfer took place at an event, attended by officials from Telenor, Pakistan and the Unicef along with Punjab government officials.
Designed with the goal of birth registration for kids under the age of 17, with special focus on children under five years of age, the Digital Birth Registration system since its inception in 2016 has already helped recognise the identities of approximately 1.8 million children across Pakistan.
The DBR project ensures that every child gets their basic right of identity, which would lead to give them better access to education, healthcare, and basic human rights. Together, the Unicef and Telenor, Pakistan have facilitated the creation of easy to access, convenient and real time mechanisms bringing birth registration to the doorstep in far flung, hard to reach area; thus, reducing the high opportunity cost and time incurred by the parents. This successful public-private partnership model has shaped regional collaboration in technology and best-practice sharing for the achievement of universal birth registration for children across South Asia. Commenting on the development, Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor, Pakistan said, “Millions of children in Pakistan remain unaccounted for and without an identity despite birth registration being the fundamental right of every child. Our collaborative initiative Digital Birth Registration, has been instrumental in giving unnamed children an identity, thus bringing Pakistan a step closer towards socio-economic empowerment and the eradication of social inequalities. After successfully handing over the project to the Sindh government, today, Unicef and Telenor Pakistan are furthering this ambition by handing this flagship project to the Punjab Government to scale across the province and reach more families. Together with Unicef, we are stretching the boundaries of inclusion while enabling the nation’s transition to digitalisation in every aspect.” “Punjab government is striving hard to translate the vision of Prime Minister of Pakistan of Digital Pakistan. Today we are advancing towards the realization of inclusive digital society. Local Government Department Punjab in collaboration with NADRA has launched Web based Application to have real time and authentic data for better planning”, said on the development Mahmoodur Rasheed Minister for Local Government Punjab. “Birth Registration is the proof of legal identity of children and is our responsibility towards international commitments,” the minister said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022