Digital Civil Registration Can Reduce the Number of ‘Invisible’ People and Bring Kenya Closer to the SDGs

Kenyans register Huduma-Namba. Credit: Reuters/Goran TomasevicBy Siddharth ChatterjeeNAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 3 2020 (IPS) A recent opinion piece in the New York Times titled, “Kenya’s New Digital IDs May Exclude Millions of Minorities” raises an issue that the UN is passionate about: that the pursuit of sustainable development should leave no one behind. In seeking inclusivity of all in the development narrative. Kenya is making important gains in making the invisible, visible. The court ruling that gave the Government the green light to continue with digital civil registration- if implemented in an inclusive and non-discriminatory manner, could assist many citizens who have come to be known as ‘invisible’ people – including stateless persons, people with disabilities, and people living in rural and remote areas. This will improve inclusion and access to services. Most of these groups continue to miss out on a range of key services such as schooling, bank accounts, obtaining a mobile phone, getting a job, voting and registering a formal business. Estimated to number one billion globally, they are ‘invisible’ because they have often failed to get registered, with UN member states adopting SDG Target 16.9 “to provide legal identity for all, including birth registration” by 2030, with consensus that identification is a key enabler of many other SDG goals and targets. Several organizations including the UN and the World Bank Group are currently supporting civil r...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Development & Aid Education Headlines Health Human Rights Labour Poverty & SDGs Sustainability TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news