Results of a case study have highlighted how a strong partnership between policy advocacy organization Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), and the government of Maldives led to the modernization and enhancement of the country’s civil registration and vital statistics as well as national identity management (CRVSID) system.
Following noticeable problems with CRVS and identity management in the country, which led to service delivery and even development planning constraints, GHAI took upon itself to front an advocacy for sustainable funding for the improvement of the CRVS and ID system, according to the case study.
The process, which also enjoyed a great deal of political will from government authorities, began with a pilot funded by GHAI, before a nationwide upgrade of the DNR’s hardware and software which included the procurement of 210 fingerprint scanning devices for national ID verification.
Fron the onset, the GHAI had made the case for more funding to develop three major areas namely, integrating the country’s hitherto siloed population data systems, putting in place a new cadre of subnational-level civil registrars, and the acquisition of biometric devices to ramp up identity verification within the framework of the country’s new identity system.
For this feat to be achieved, GHAI says it worked very closely with the Maldives’ Department of National Registration (DNR) to “develop an integrated CRVSID system that can manage, verify and issue National Digital ID Cards while also registering all vital events through a single digital portal.”
Thanks to the lobby, the DNR upped its budget for the period 2022-2024 by $491,535, while the digital ID program also increased its budget within the same period by $268,980, the GHAI says, adding that the DNR was also able to expand and decentralize its personnel in order to conduct more enrollments.
In addition to these budget increases, the country’s Finance Ministry has also taken the commitment to increase funds allocated to the DNA for the 2025-2027 budget window in a bid to “appoint civil registrars on each inhabited island, bringing registration and ID management services even closer to the people.”
The case study also highlights some lessons which can be useful for other countries looking to improve and scale up their CRVS and national digital ID systems.
It suggests that forming the right partnerships with the right government stakeholders, getting on board a diverse group of people, using focal government departments to lead advocacy with other government institutions, and strong budgetary lobbies, can be of great value to CRVS and ID management efforts.
Last year, Maldives launched a mobile ID application (eFaas) for the country’s national digital ID.
Maldives collects biometrics of migrant workers
In a related Maldives story, the country’s authorities recently launched a move to collect biometric data from all migrant workers, Xinhua reports.
Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan is quoted as saying that the exercise will help correct the improper identification of migrant workers in the country, which has raised national security concerns in the past years.
The biometrics being collected include fingerprints and facial photographs and the exercise will run for the next three years, according to NAM News Network.
Article Topics
biometrics | civil registration | CRVS | digital government | digital ID | Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) | identity management | Maldives
Read More: Maldives reveals how integrated CRVS, ID management system set up