Counting every life: Why Bangladesh must reform birth and death registration law

Every day in Bangladesh, thousands of children take their first breath while countless others bid farewell to life. 

Yet the tragic fact remains that, far too often, their births and deaths never make it into the state's records. As a result, many remain effectively invisible, as birth and death registration has yet to be guaranteed for all. 

At present, only around 50% of births and 47% of deaths in Bangladesh are registered, placing the country behind many of its South Asian neighbours. 

By contrast, India has achieved nearly 90% birth registration, while the Maldives, Bhutan and Sri Lanka are close to universal coverage.

Birth and death registration are two cornerstone components of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS). They are not merely administrative formalities — they form the foundation of a person's legal identity and recognition. 

Registration guarantees access to fundamental rights, inheritance, education, healthcare and even the right to vote. Without proper registration, a citizen effectively becomes "invisible" in society. 

This invisibility has severe consequences: the risks of child marriage, child labour, human trafficking and social inequities increase sharply. At the same time, the state is deprived of accurate information on population dynamics and causes of death, crippling its ability to devise effective development strategies and implement public health interventions.

The Birth and Death Registration Act of 2004 places the burden of notifying births and deaths on families rather than institutions. This overlooks the fact that nearly 67% of births in Bangladesh occur in healthcare facilities. 

A straightforward reform, which has helped many countries in the Asia-Pacific region move closer to universal coverage, is to legally oblige hospitals to notify registrars of all births and deaths. Bangladesh has yet to take this step. 

In addition, the law imposes fees for correcting certificates, putting impoverished and vulnerable families at a disadvantage. 

It also fails to require the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics to generate vital statistics from registration data, leaving a significant gap in demographic and health information. Furthermore, lack of public awareness, a complicated registration process, technical problems, and weak coordination with the healthcare sector remain major barriers to the law's effective implementation.

Globally, the United Nations has recognised birth registration as a fundamental human right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international treaties. The Asia-Pacific region, through UNESCAP, has committed to ensuring every birth and death is registered by 2030. 

Bangladesh, as a member state, has pledged the same. Moreover, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 16.9 prioritises providing legal identity for everyone, including birth registration.

The question arises: How can Bangladesh achieve the target of universal birth and death registration? The way forward is clear — legal reform, coupled with strict enforcement of the law, offers the most effective path to achieving this goal.

Among several loopholes in the existing law, three areas require urgent revision and strengthening. 

Firstly, mandate that health facilities, including hospitals and clinics, report all births and deaths. 

Secondly, eliminate rectification fees to ensure that low-income households and marginalised populations are not excluded. 

Thirdly, oblige the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics to produce vital statistics from registration data for planning and policymaking.

Furthermore, ensuring accountability among responsible authorities, addressing shortages of staff and equipment at the local level, enhancing the training and skills of registration personnel, simplifying the registration process, resolving technical challenges, and raising widespread public awareness are among the most important steps to guarantee proper implementation.

If effective action is not taken now to reform the law and ensure its implementation, millions of children will remain without an identity, women will continue to be denied their rightful social protections, and the state will lack accurate data for development planning. 

By strengthening the law and making the registration system simpler and universally accessible, Bangladesh can not only achieve global targets but also uphold the rights and dignity of every citizen from cradle to grave, while unlocking new horizons in good governance, human rights and development.

Bangladesh stands at a critical crossroads. The key question is this: will the country move forward with legal reform and effective implementation, or will it continue to dream of sustainable development while millions of invisible citizens remain unaccounted for?

ABM Zubair is the executive director of PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress). He can be contacted at basharzubair@hotmail.com.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.