So said Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Khanh Ngoc at a meeting held both in person and via videoconference on November 23 to review the five-year implementation of the national action plan for 2017-2024.
He said Vietnam’s civil registration system has recorded great strides in terms of legal regulations and apparatus. Since 2016, millions of children have had their birth registered and personal identification numbers granted each year. The birth registration rate has always been higher than 98 percent.
The national action plan has ensured the right to civil registration for not only domestic citizens but also overseas Vietnamese and foreigners living in the country, with all necessary information included as in line with international practices, according to Ngoc.
Naomi Kitahara, Representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam, said an effective civil registration and vital statistics system will ensure that all people benefit from social welfare, including health care and education. Besides, a lean registration mechanism across the life course holds special importance to women and creates a framework for resolving gender inequality.
She recommended the country consolidate the role and responsibility of the national steering committee for the national action plan while further applying digital technology to help ministries and sectors share information more effectively and facilitate the improvement of the entire civil registration and vital statistics system.
The UNFPA will assist the Vietnamese Government in speeding up changes towards a modern and progressive civil registration and vital statistics system in which data will be shared and used for making and implementing evidence-based policies and decisions, she added.
The meeting, funded by UNFPA Vietnam and Vital Strategies, took place within the framework of the Data for Health Initiative that aims to help the country improve civil registration and vital statistics.
