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Experts have called for reform of the Birth and Death Registration Act, 2004, to ensure accurate and universal registration and strengthen good governance in Bangladesh.
National Birth and Death Registration Day 2026 will be observed on Monday (October 6) with the theme “Nirbhul Nibondhon, Nischit Hobe Sushason” (Accurate Registration Ensures Good Governance).
Accurate registration of births and deaths is considered essential for safeguarding civic rights, effective development planning, public health management, equitable budget allocation and good governance. The government has set a target of achieving universal birth and death registration by 2030.
According to PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress), however, birth and death registration rates currently stand at around 50 percent and 47 percent respectively, leaving nearly half of the population vulnerable to difficulties in accessing basic rights and services, including education and healthcare.
The organisation said gaps in timely and accurate registration could increase the risks of child labour, child marriage, human trafficking and other human rights violations, while undermining effective governance.
Unregistered deaths can also create legal complications over inheritance and property distribution among family members.
Registration rates are particularly low among people living in rural and coastal char areas, hilly regions and urban slums, it said.
Experts stressed that amending the Birth and Death Registration Act, 2004, is necessary to establish a more accurate and reliable registration system.
They suggested shifting the primary responsibility for birth registration from families to healthcare facilities, making it mandatory for hospitals and other healthcare providers to register births directly.
Such a system could bring nearly 67 percent of children born at healthcare facilities under automatic registration, reducing errors and opportunities for fraudulent registration while improving transparency and accountability, according to PROGGA.
The reform would also help Bangladesh accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, which calls for providing legal identity for all, including birth registration, by 2030.
In a statement issued ahead of National Birth and Death Registration Day 2026, ABM Zubair, executive director of PROGGA, said accurate and universal data on citizens was a fundamental prerequisite for good governance.
“The primary prerequisite for ensuring good governance is preserving accurate and universal data for all citizens,” he said.
“Reforming the Birth and Death Registration Act, 2004 to assign mandatory registration duties to healthcare facilities will expedite Bangladesh’s progress towards achieving universal registration by 2030,” Zubair added.