Underprivileged groups including ethnic minorities, gender-diverse populations, persons with disabilities, women, and youths have called for reforms in Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) for inclusive development.
At a groundbreaking session at Nari Maitree, a non-profit organisation, they shared their struggles in the registration process including paying unofficial fees to intermediaries, lengthy travel to service centres, and costs associated with correcting errors on official documents.
Nari Maitree and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) under the Bloomberg Philanthropies' Data for Health Initiative organised the event to highlight how financial and administrative obstacles disproportionately affect marginalised communities in accessing CRVS services, according to a press release issued on Sunday.
The CRVS system plays a critical role in the economic development by providing accurate data for public policy and resource allocation.
The exclusion of marginalised communities due to financial barriers not only affects individuals but also undermines national socio-economic planning.
For instance, unregistered populations such as the gender-diverse communities miss out on vital social protection programmes, exacerbating poverty and inequality, the press release added. Ethnic minorities like the Garo community shared stories of how errors in names and cultural misrepresentations in official documents lead to repeated applications, adding unnecessary financial strain.
The reforms proposed in the session are introducing fee exemptions for individuals from low-income households, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, simplifying procedure for rectifying errors to save time and reduce additional expenses and expanding online registration options to lower administrative and travel-related costs.
The session also included advocacy training to equip participants with the skills to engage policymakers and advocate for financial inclusivity in the CRVS system. Mohammad Ruhul Kuddus, country lead for GHAI Bangladesh, emphasised the organisation's commitment to working closely with disadvantaged communities to amplify their concerns in policy dialogues.
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