By Subhan Baloch
KARACHI: SINDH has introduced real-time digital birth registration in major public teaching hospitals, securing a child’s legal identity within minutes of birth through a fully paperless process in what officials describe as a landmark reform in civil documentation.
The first successful registration under the new system took place at Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, where a newborn was documented immediately after delivery using the Birth Notification Tool developed by National Database and Registration Authority. The platform allows birth data to be transmitted electronically from hospitals, removing delays and reducing dependence on manual paperwork.
The initiative is being implemented under a tripartite agreement between the Sindh health department, NADRA and the local government and housing, town planning department. Officials say it represents the first operational milestone of the province’s reformed Civil Registration and Vital Statistics framework, which seeks to link healthcare services with civil documentation through modern technology.
Alongside LUMHS, the system has also been activated at Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College Hospital, where several newborns were registered instantly using the same digital process. Authorities say the reform ensures secure hospital-based registration, minimises human error, improves transparency and produces accurate population data for health and development planning.
The project was initially piloted in July 2025 with technical support from the United Nations Population Fund. In its first phase, 36 public health facilities in Hyderabad and Matiari districts were linked to the digital system and staff were given specialised training to operate the platform.
In the second phase, the programme has been extended to 14 teaching and tertiary care hospitals across Sindh, significantly improving the issuance of birth certificates, addressing long-standing documentation gaps and strengthening legal identity protection for children across the province.
The reform is being overseen by the provincial CRVS task force under the vision of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the directives of Murad Ali Shah. Senior officials say the aim is to ensure that every child born in Sindh begins life with a legally recognised identity, a prerequisite for access to healthcare, education and social protection.
As the system expands, sustainability and public awareness are expected to remain central challenges. For now, however, public hospitals in the province have moved into a new phase in which a newborn’s first official record is no longer handwritten but digital, immediate and permanent.
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