Significance of birth registration policies and interventions – SDG Target 16.9

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District-Level Policy Dialogue at the University of Turbat

Turbat (16 May 2023) Local Councils Association of Balochistan in Partnership with the University of Turbat organized “District level policy dialogue on legal identity for all including birth registration” under LEAD for SDGs Programme co-financed by the European Union and the UCLG ASPAC.

The session was aimed to promote awareness among the general public, about the significance of birth registration policies and interventions.

The faculty and students of the Sociology Department, and people from the newly elected local governments of Turbat and adjacent areas, civil society, and NGOs participated in the workshop.

The honourable Vice-Chancellor of, the University of Turbat, Prof. Dr. Jan Muhammad Baloch welcomed the participants, he said that it is of utmost importance for local government and NGOs to increase their engagement with universities, academia, and students to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals through collaborative research interventions­­­. He suggested that it would be impactful to spread awareness through short videos in local languages in the rural areas of Balochistan. He expressed these views while speaking at a workshop on the importance of legal identity for all, including birth registration. He added that this topic is relevant to students for future research.

Prof. Dr. Abdul Saboor, Dean of, the Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities extended his gratitude to the guests and participants for their presence in the workshop and discussion on such an important issue. He urged the role of academia in decision-making, mobilization, and linking society with institutions. He said that such workshops indicate the positive attitude of people regarding birth registration.

Dr. Mohammad Yaseen, Chairperson of the Department of Sociology, presented the issues and challenges of birth registration nexus with health services in a special context to district Kech. He highlighted some challenges and issues regarding birth registration, including registration fees, lack of awareness, and complex procedures of documentation.

Ms. Zaib Un Nisa, Advocacy & Capacity Building Manager, make the knowledge accessible to the participants regarding national, provincial & international level legislation promulgated to support birth registration. She unearthed the benefits of Digital census and birth registration in budget development and the formation of developmental schemes. She said we should promote efficient & advanced leadership in Support of SDGs Localisation.

Mr. Syed Sajjad Imran Shah, International Policy, and Local Government expert conducted the discussion on Policy gaps for birth registration at the district level. He explains the linkages between effective local-level development and sustainable development goals. He suggested the Role of Local Governments, in effective Public Policy creation and application.

The Keynote Mr. Balakh Sher Qazi, Mayor MC Turbat addressed the participants about the relationship between the Digital Census and the estimation of budget and basic infrastructure such as edu., health, and food for a region. He praised the efforts of the organizers. He specifically mentioned that local government members need to collaborate with academic institutes and civil society organisations in knowledge-sharing and capacity-building interventions.

The feedback session gathered salient remarks from participants to highlight the key challenges and barriers that hinder birth registration at the local level. In the end, Chief Guest distributed the certificate among the participants.

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