Strengthen law to achieve universal birth and death registration: Experts

Experts have urged the government to amend and strengthen existing legislation to ensure universal birth and death registration in Bangladesh, warning that current systems remain far behind global and regional standards.

The call was made today , on the last day of a two-day journalist workshop, "Birth and Death Registration in Bangladesh: Progress, Challenges and Way Forward", at the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) Conference Room in Dhaka.

According to speakers at the workshop, Bangladesh, as part of the UNESCAP-led Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Decade initiative, has committed to achieving 100% birth and death registration by 2030. 

The target is also aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, which calls for legal identity for all, including free birth registration.

Against this backdrop, legally bestowing the responsibility of registration on hospital authorities could lead Bangladesh towards achieving the anticipated targets, the experts said.

The event was organised by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), and attended by 30 journalists from print, television and online media outlets.

Participants noted that although around 67% of children in Bangladesh are born in healthcare facilities, hospitals are not authorised to register births or deaths. Under the current Birth and Death Registration Act, 2004, families are responsible for providing information to registrars, while the health sector's role remains optional.

Global experience shows that assigning the duty to institutions rather than individuals significantly boosts registration rates. In several Asia-Pacific countries, requiring hospitals to register births and deaths has helped achieve universal coverage.

During the workshop, it was informed that Bangladesh's birth registration rate currently stands at 50% – well below the global average of 77% and South Asia's average of 76%, according to Unicef data for 2024. The country's death registration rate is 47%, compared with a global average of 74%.

Speakers said these low rates undermine both individual rights and national planning.

At the individual level, birth and death registration ensures access to fundamental rights such as citizenship, education, healthcare, inheritance, and voting rights. At the national level, accurate population and health data play a vital role in planning, budgeting, public health, and good governance.

Discussants identified several barriers to progress, including lack of public awareness, a complex registration process, technical difficulties and weak coordination between registrars and the health sector. They argued that enforcing the law more effectively, while addressing legal limitations, is critical.

They recommended amending the 2004 Act to mandate that all government and private hospitals, clinics and healthcare facilities register births and deaths occurring within their institutions.

Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh country lead of GHAI, said: "Assigning the responsibility of birth and death registration to health facilities through law amendment will enable Bangladesh to achieve universal (100%) birth and death registration by 2030."

Other discussants included Md Nazrul Islam and Md Moyeen Uddin of Vital Strategies; Mir Masrur Zaman of Channel I; Mortuza Haider Liton, convener of the Anti-tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA); Nadira Kiron and Mizan Chowdhury, co-conveners of ATMA; and ABM Zubair, executive director of PROGGA. 

Presentations were delivered by PROGGA's Head of Programmes Md Hasan Shahriar and Coordinator Mashiat Abedin.