Over 500k births listed in Sindh under digital project

Registration desks being set up at hospitals

KARACHI: More than 500,000 children have been registered under the digital birth registration project in Sindh so far, said Sindh local government secretary Roshan Ali Shaikh on Wednesday.

The project, launched in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund in 2017, was piloted in Thatta and was later extended to Badin, Naushero Feroze and Karachi. The initiative was aimed at ensuring and expediting the registration of children at the time of birth, especially in rural areas, as a means to safeguard their fundamental rights.

Speaking on the matter, Shaikh deemed the project a "success in Sindh," elaborating that it had made the registration of newborns with the National Database and Regulatory Authority much easier, through the assistance of union councils.

"It has helped with data collection and facilitates citizens' access to necessary records," he added. "Moreover, it is a one-time investment of just Rs200."   He said that desks for registration under the project were being established at various hospitals.

Saying that the government aimed to expand the project to all areas of the province, he announced the launch of a mobile registration system for registering newborns at their homes amid coronavirus outbreak.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2020.