Liberia needs more funding to widen national ID coverage

The Executive Director of Liberia’s National Identification Registry (NIR), Andrew Peters, says one of the biggest challenges they face in expanding national ID enrollment in the country is lack of funding despite the will by the government and other concerned parties to get things going right.

Peters mentioned this is an interview with Biometric Update in which he also discussed Liberia’s participation at the ID4Africa 2025 AGM, a recent executive order by the country’s President to make national ID registration compulsory, their partnerships with international development organizations, and Liberia’s journey toward meeting the UN SDG 16.9 target of reaching everyone on the planet with a legal identity including, birth registration, by the year 2030.

Interesting is growing, but payment a headache

According to the NIR boss, there is growing interest among Liberians for national ID enrollment but the main issue is payments. He also mentioned the robust political support for the ID program by President Joseph Boakai as well as assistance from organizations like UNICEF in the area of birth registration. But these, he says, need an extra financial push to get things to the desired level of implementation, in line with the country’s national digital transformation goals.

The national ID registration rate in Liberia is extremely low with just about 14 percent of the country’s five million citizens already enrolled, according to NIR figures.

“When we took over [the administration of the NIR], we started from birth registration. Birth registration is now a priority because it is a civil right for all citizens,” Peters affirmed.

“Currently in Liberia, we are registering people from zero up to infinity. One of the problems we face is the issue of payment. Citizens are willing, and the data is important, but paying the for the services remains an issue,” he stated.

He added that President Boakai is aware of the problem, and his recent executive order mandating compulsory national ID enrollment for all eligible citizens is part of efforts to drive adoption. But even at that, the NIR is looking at possibilities of more funding in order to make birth and ID registration free of charge for citizens.

“Our main challenge at NIR now is how to mobilize resources. The government is doing its best, and the president has shown serious interest in the activities of the registry. But as you know, it’s a new government, and it faces a lot of challenges, which include roads, connectivity, the health sector, and many others. We have limited resources,” Peters bemoaned.

“So, we are trying to work with partners and see how they can help fund some of our programs to make registration free of charge. That’s our plan.”

Child enrollment pilot

Peters also spoke about a child enrollment pilot which the NIR has been running with the support of UNICEF which helped them enroll about 5,000 children in May. He said they are negotiating to see how the partnership can be expanded. The pilot aligns with a project launched by the NIR in 2023 to capture the biometric of all children at birth.

“We hope to conclude that by next month [June]. We are still appealing to them to see how best we can expand that number from 5,000 to at least 100,000 or 200,000. Also, we are having discussions with other ID partners to see how they can assist us, because if we continue to depend largely on the collection of registration fees, we may not be able to meet the 2030 target,” the NIR head disclosed.

Peters also appealed to Liberians, both home and abroad, to see registration for national ID as a commitment, and urged them to show up at NIR centers alongside their family members in order to have themselves registered for an identity credential which the ID authority sees as vital for driving the country’s digital economy.

“We are working to address the financial challenges tied to registration. With the president’s support, we are hopeful that something will be done. That’s why we are also encouraging everyone to show up at our enrollment centers and make sure they are counted as citizens in order not to be left stateless.”

Speeding up ID registration

Also speaking recently during a regular press conference, Peters reiterated the necessity of the president’s executive order making ID enrollment compulsory.

He described it as “a major boost to our mandate,” GNN Liberia reports, noting that it will go a long way in speeding up ID registration across the country.

While hoping things will change in terms of availability of finances to advance the ID project, Peters also acknowledges the usefulness of attending identity events like the ID4Africa AGM, saying it is a hub for important learning.

“Our delegation came here to learn lessons, gain experience, meet our counterparts and executives of ID4Africa, and listen to presentations from ID professionals and other speakers. Throughout the four days, I must confess that we learned a lot. We are going back loaded.”

In March, the Liberian government launched a digital public infrastructure (DPI) project with $30 million funding support from the World Bank, one objective of which is to expand national digital ID coverage.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  children  |  civil registration  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  ID4Africa  |  ID4Africa 2025  |  legal identity  |  Liberia  |  National Identification Registry (NIR)