Honduras obtains $40M World Bank loan to digitize CRVS, expand ID verification services

Honduras is set to receive funding from the World Bank to the tune of $40 million to implement a project that seeks to digitize its civil registration and vital statistics system and support the improvement of the country’s identity verification services.

According to a press release, the project, ‘Strengthening Honduras’ National Civil Registry and Identification Ecosystem,’ aims to automate the central American nation’s civil registry, prompt an increase in birth registration and the issuance of identification credentials to children, and then extend digital ID verification services to all of the country’s citizens.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the loan disbursement on December 18.

The National Registry of Persons (NRP) will be the implementing agency of the project that aims to push birth registration in the country to 97 percent and the issuance of 1.3 million ID credentials to children and adolescents aged between 6 and 17.

In remarks following the loan approval, Honduras’ Finance Minister Rixi Moncada said the support marks an important step in the country’s march toward guaranteeing the right to legal identity, which he says, is one of the most fundamental.

“The government of President Xiomara Castro values the World Bank’s support as we implement our modernization agenda for the benefit of the Honduran people. The project will facilitate access to services and enable Honduran citizens to exercise other social and economic rights,” says Moncada.

“The World Bank will continue to support Honduras’ efforts to accelerate the human and economic development of Hondurans by strengthening public institutions for more efficient service delivery,” comments Kinnon Scott, World Bank resident representative in Honduras. “We are also very pleased to provide support to the country through projects such as this one, which will help guarantee the right to an identity, proper registration, and the provision of an identification document for children, all actions that are critical to efforts to reduce exclusion and poverty.”

As indicated in the new release, the project also intends to ramp up Honduras’ digital government efforts by digitizing about 50 administrative processes, which until now, are based on paperwork. This will include in-person interactions, mobile and online services and the installation of self-service kiosks at different locations around the country.

The project also involves a data protection component which will strengthen the NRP’s capacity on cyber incidents detection and resilience.

The World Bank is offering seminar support to other countries including Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mozambique, and the Philippines to digitize and modernize the way public services are delivered.

Article Topics

birth registration  |  civil registration  |  CRVS  |  Honduras  |  identity verification  |  legal identity  |  SDG 16.9  |  World Bank