Burkina Faso gets support from Japan to enroll IDPs for biometric ID

The government of Burkina Faso recently got a boost from Japan to its efforts in conducting biometric identity enrollment for some internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country.

The support is in the form of digital equipment worth $153,000 and it has been given through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), We Are Tech Africa reports.

The equipment was donated early this month by Japanese government and JICA representatives to the Minister of Solidarity, Humanitarian Action, National Reconciliation, Gender and Family.

Among the items handed over to the Burkinabe government official are 120 fingerprint scanners and 120 power banks, to enable fingerprint biometrics capture in remote settlements with limited or no electricity.

The project is aided by two applications developed by the government. While the first application enables fingerprint registration and de-duplication in order to provide accurate figures about IDPs, the second has to do with the processing, analysis and dissemination of IDP data.

The project to enroll IDPs in Burkina Faso for biometric ID was launched in 2019, with the goal of setting up a dependable database for the management of forcibly displaced persons.

It is estimated that the implementation of the biometric ID system for IDPs will cost around XAF two billion (about $3.2 million).

The number of IDPs in Burkina Faso is said to be growing as a result of rising insecurity in the Sahel region. It is hoped that the biometric registration will help in the distribution of humanitarian assistance to beneficiaries.

Early this year, the World Bank approved funding to Burkina Faso for a project that seeks to ramp up the country’s digital public infrastructure implementation plan.

Article Topics

biometric enrollment  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  Burkina Faso  |  fingerprint scanners  |  identity management  |  Japan  |  refugee registration