Dhaka: Ensuring universal birth and death registration is crucial for protecting citizen rights and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but Bangladesh continues to face significant challenges due to legal loopholes and weak implementation, resulting in a low registration rate across the country, experts have said.
According to United News of Bangladesh, these issues were highlighted on Saturday during a webinar titled "Strong Registration System for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Bangladesh Perspective." The event was organised by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).
The webinar emphasized that SDG target 16.9 focuses on providing legal identity for all, including birth registration. Registration is also mandatory for accessing benefits from government social safety net programmes, aligning with SDG target 1.3. Furthermore, death registration aids in tracking maternal mortality (SDG 3.1), and records of births and deaths are essential for measuring child mortality rates (SDG 3.2).
Accurate cause-of-death data helps combat non-communicable diseases (SDG 3.4), while timely death registration enhances disease surveillance and emergency healthcare services (SDG 3.d). Additionally, birth certificates support school enrolment and protect against child marriage and child labour, thus accelerating the achievement of SDGs 4 and 5 (Education and Gender Equality). Achieving universal registration is therefore vital for attaining the SDGs.
Speakers at the webinar noted that the current birth registration rate in Bangladesh is only 50 percent, with death registration at 47 percent, figures that are below global and regional averages. Although around 67 percent of children are born in health facilities, the responsibility for registration remains with families, not the facilities.
The absence of a mandatory registration system following births and deaths at healthcare centres leaves a significant portion of the population excluded from official records. This lack of accurate vital statistics hampers effective planning in the health sector and non-communicable disease prevention.
Nazrul Islam, Country Coordinator of Vital Strategies, emphasized the need to strengthen the registration law and accelerate implementation through enhanced coordination among relevant ministries and the Local Government Division. Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh Country Lead of GHAI, suggested amending the Birth and Death Registration Act, 2004, to shift legal responsibility from individuals to healthcare facilities, which would contribute to achieving the SDGs.
The webinar was presided over by ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA, and moderated by Mashiat Abedin, who also delivered the keynote presentation.