Pilot Digital System Registers Nearly 300 Newborns
This photo shows a woman in Phnom Penh having reigstered her new born baby. Photo: Ren Rortanak
- By Meng Seavmey
- January 19, 2024 7:19 PM
PHNOM PENH – An online birth registration system has had 287 entries during its one-month pilot operation. Of these, 33 registrations have been used to issue birth certificates, says Interior Ministry’s Touch Sokhak.
The system is run by the General Department of Identification (GDI) and is cooperating with 13 public and private hospitals and health centers in six communes of Khan Pou Senchey, Phnom Penh, Sokhak said.
“Hospitals insert the birth information into the GDI’s app and alert the six commune halls,” he said.
“They wait three days for the families to register their babies. If they do not, the authority will contact them.
“Parents fill in their baby's information at the commune hall. The data is transferred into the system and printed it out for signature. Then, the birth certificate will be valid.
The pilot procedure is to reduce the input of wrong spellings and informationinput. It is a collaboration of the Interior and Health ministries as a step to set up digital identification, Interior Minister Sar Sokha said.
But Sokha said parents are required to fill in the information for the certificate in a timely manner at commune halls that have the system.
Parents can register for a birth certificate at the commune hall in person and must do so within 30 days of their baby’s birth.
The certificate is needed for enrolling in school, national ID, resident documents or family book, passports, ownership documents, marriage and death certificates, and employment applications.
The system aligns with the fifth part of the government’s Pentagonal Strategy-Phase 1: focusing on the development of the digital economy and society.
The GDI, the Department of Passports and the Department of Civil Status have also had discussions with the Department of Information Technology Management about studies on establishing a registration platform using digital technology.
The app can be used not only for birth registrations but also for death certificates and family books. If this implementation is successful, the procedure will expand for people in other areas, a spokesperson said.
