Lesotho commits to 50-in-5 campaign as advocacy for CRVS-DPI integration thickens

The 50-in-5 campaign – an advocacy to support at least 50 countries build safe, inclusive an interoperable digital public infrastructure (DPI) in the next five years – has got a latest member in Lesotho. This comes as the UNDP and its partners have been making the case for integrating DPI and Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems as a way of better connecting people and streamlining service delivery. As far as DPI is concerned, India is one of the scintillating examples of its impact. In a podcast, three officials from Deloitte and the Aadhaar chief architect share their thoughts on how DPI is driving buoyancy India’s digital economy and oiling the wheels of effective service delivery in the private and public sectors of three other countries. Relatedly, the role of MOSIP in enabling safe, inclusive and interoperable DPI is also highlighted in an analysis by another Deloitte official, while Totm technologies has in a write-up also explained what DPI is and its role in facilitating the digital transformation journeys of nations.

Lesotho, 14^th country to join 50-in-5 movement

This month, the country announced its participation in the initiative which was launched in November last year.

Being a member of the advocacy means the constitutional monarchy is taking the commitment of putting in place safe, inclusive and interoperable DPI to improve the lives of citizens, according to an announcement form the movement.

At an event to announce the membership, Lesotho’s Minister of Communications, Science, Technology and Innovation, Nthati Moorosi, said: “This underscores the importance of our collective efforts in driving economic growth and fostering innovations through ICT initiatives. These monumental efforts will enable government departments and different sectors to draw up specific digital transformation strategies.”

“Learning from others, while sharing our own experiences, will help fulfil our own digital public infrastructure ambitions in an inclusive way. An Innovation Hub is being created alongside the Ministry for Education at Lerotholi polytechnic to help promote innovators, ideas, and entrepreneurship, supported by UNDP and UNICEF,” UNDP Malawi representative, Jacqueline Olewa, also commented.

“Through the campaign we will enact new enabling legislation, coordination of the DPI implementation plan across the government, and targeting women and youth to ensure readiness for the digitalization program.”

UNDP, partners lead advocacy for CRVS-DPI merger

In a blog article published by the UNDP, three writers from the UN agency and global health organization ,Vital Strategies, chronicle why it’s important to mesh together DPI and CRVS systems.

They describe this integration as “a strategic imperative” as it “holds the potential for improving service delivery and safeguarding human rights,” especially given that many CRVS systems are fragmented.

The article makes a flash back on a recent concertation meeting of CRVS and DPI experts convened by the UNDP and recalls some of the key points underlined during the meeting which include the principles of universality and interoperability, the need for dedicated funding to support digital transformation led by DPI, and prioritizing people and their human rights.

“As more countries design and implement DPI, rethinking CRVS systems with a DPI lens, and vice-versa, could yield numerous societal benefits in years to come,” the authors posit, noting that “aligning and making interoperable digital identities can also have some immediate benefits that can be cost-saving for countries and institutions.”

India’s DPI experience spotlighted in Deloitte podcast

In an episode of Government’s Future Frontiers podcast of the Deloitte Centre for Government Insights, a quartet of guests shared thoughts on the development and impact of DPI, making inference to India’s experience where the country is banking on its DPI stack to become a trillion-dollar digital economy in the next five to six years.

Not long ago, Deloitte released a framework for the design, development and deployment of DPI.

In the discussion, Pramod Varma, chief architect of Aadhaar; Jaimie Boyd, Digital Government leader at Deloitte Canada; NSN Murty, partner and consulting leader for Government & Public Services at Deloitte India, and Bill Eggers, executive director of Deloitte’s Center for Government Insights, speak about DPI adoption and India’s success story. The exchange also involved the DPI experience in Ukraine, Estonia and Singapore.

MOSIP, a cornerstone for DPI devt

And talking about India, the DPI story can’t be told without mentioning indigenous startup MOSIP which has turned out to be a go-to open source platform for building DPI ecosystems.

In an article, Amit Singh, a partner of Deloitte India, notes that MOSIP has significantly influenced the digital ID landscape, which is a key component of DPI, proving especially useful for developing countries with fewer resources, inadequate IT capacity and infrastructure to properly run digital ID systems.

To Sigh, MOSIP’s penchant for data security and privacy are a plus, coupled with its ability to be customized to fit into specific realities.

To date, the MOSIP platform is being used either for digital ID trials or full-scale rollouts in 17 countries.

Meanwhile, in a write-up, Totm Technologies Digital Identity and Trust Advisor, Eric Drury, looks at the basics of DPI.

The theme of this year’s ID4Africa general meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, looks at digital identity as DPI and how to foster trust, inclusion and adoption.

Article Topics

50-in-5  |  Africa  |  CRVS  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  Lesotho  |  MOSIP (Modular Open Source Identity Platform)  |  UNDP