By Usman Ahmad

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Every child is entitled to a life devoid of violence, fear, neglect, exploitation, and abuse. Birth registration (BR) is a fundamental human right, yet millions of children worldwide remain undocumented. According to UNICEF-2024, while birth registration is steadily increasing globally, 150 million children are still invisible. BR is a crucial document as it serves as the first official document, recognizing a person’s legal identity. Under Articles 7-8 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), governments are obligated to register every child immediately after birth. In the absence of an effective birth and death registration system, fertility and mortality data relies only on suboptimal data sources.

According to the SDGs agenda, Target 16.9 aims to ensure that everyone has a legal identity, including birth registration, by 2030. As we look toward 2030 and beyond, the message is clear: every child deserves to be counted and supported. The Regional Action Framework on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) for Asia and the Pacific has set a goal of achieving universal civil registration of births, deaths, and other vital events.

In many developing countries, policy-making depends on data collected through censuses and surveys. A robust CRVS system provides a reliable, high-quality stream of information that covers a broader segment of the population, supporting social welfare programmes, law enforcement, accurate calculations of per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and poverty metrics, which remains miscalculated in the absence of proper birth and death records. Beyond safeguarding personal rights, birth registration is crucial for effective national planning and governance.

In Pakistan, the process of formalizing a child’s identity through birth registration entails different authorities. The Union Council (UC) or Cantonment Boards or Municipal Corporations are responsible in issuance of birth certificate and this primary document, encapsulating essential details such as the child’s name, date and place of birth, and parental information. Pakistan ranks as the fifth most populous country globally, with the Population and Housing Census-2023 reporting 241.49 million residents, reflecting an annual growth rate of about 2.55 percent. For birth registration the legal framework -Birth, Marriage, and Death Registration Act of 1886 laid the foundation for civil registration, mandating provincial governments to maintain certified records of births and deaths. Pakistan’s CRVS system encounters challenges in producing disaggregated vital statistics due to incomplete coverage and data integration issues.

Pakistan’s birth registration system faces systemic and operational constraints that hinder progress toward universal coverage. Ensuring accessibility remains a pressing policy concern, particularly in rural and remote areas, where weak infrastructure and fragmented service delivery undermine registration efforts. Financial barriers, including indirect costs, travel expenses, and penalties for late registration, disproportionately affect low-income families and discourage their compliance.

Additionally, low public awareness limits the demand for registration services, particularly in underdeveloped areas. In 2013, the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives identified deficiencies in the frameworks for birth and death registration and that lead the formation of the National CRVS Steering and Coordination Committee in 2014, followed by the establishment of a Technical Support Unit in 2017. Initiatives like Digital Birth Registration (DBR), mobile application and web-based dashboard program significantly bolstered Pakistan’s CRVS system.

Inadequate investment in the CRVS systems, especially in developing countries, demonstrates that there is a dearth of research, which helps in highlighting the supply side interventions and demand side barriers in the way to execute this system with its full potential. Like other developing countries, Pakistan comes across similar challenges.

According to the 2017-18 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS), only 42.2 percent of children under five have their births officially registered. The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) boasts the highest registration rate at 82 percent, followed by Punjab at 75 percent, Baluchistan at 44 percent, Sindh at 34 percent, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) at the lowest with 29 percent. Data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2017-18, also validates the PDHS findings, indicating Punjab with the highest birth registration rates ranging from 75 percent to 79 percent, while KPK remains the lowest.

The relatively better performance of Punjab is associated with 3,225 operational Union Councils and 160 e-Khidmat centres facilitating registration, while KP’s and Baluchistan both has the serious challenges of security constraints.

Overall, birth registration rates are consistently higher in urban areas compared to rural areas. The 2024 report, “The Right Start in Life: Global Levels and Trends in Birth Registration”, underscores that the Maldives, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka have achieved nearly 100 percent birth registration coverage by prioritizing prompt registration, utilising health, social protection, and education systems, expanding service access, digitising processes, and eliminating associated fees.

To ensure universal coverage, there is dire need to strengthen the BR system through enormous reforms. The universal coverage can be achieved through universal fee waiver by extending Sindh’s and Punjab’s successful waiver model nationwide, simplify documents requirement, expand Punjab’s Digital Birth Registration (DBR) initiative whole country, real-time data sharing mechanism among Union councils, health departments and NADRA.

To incentivize compliance among low-income families, birth registration can be linked to available social services (e.g. BISP cash transfer program). Special protocols must be developed for vulnerable groups, including refugees and children with disabilities, in partnership with UN agencies to make the system more inclusive. Training of Union Council staff and healthcare workers on digital tools, accessible registration practices will help to improve accuracy and efficiency.

Simultaneously, nationwide awareness campaigns in multiple languages and with gender-sensitive messaging can help families better understand the benefits and procedures of birth registration, ensuring that no child is left unregistered. Looking forward, Pakistan should focus on a digital registration system, which will support the move to a modern, register-based census.

Broadly, these efforts align with the 5Es Framework and URAAN Pakistan, both of which aim to improve the quality, accessibility, and efficiency of digital public service. As civil registration plays a critical role in good governance, achieving development targets, and safeguarding citizens’ rights.

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