Somalia to integrate more govt services with national ID as issuance reaches 1M

Somalia’s National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) has hailed the growing adoption of the national ID card, and says more government and even private sector services will be integrated with the ID system to facilitate access.

NIRA’s Director General Abdiwali Ali Abdulle made the remarks this week as Somalia held its second national conference on the rollout of its national ID in the capital Mogadishu.

The conference, which unfolded under the theme “From Identity to Impact: Building Somalia’s Digital Ecosystem,” mainly sought to review progress in the implementation of the identity program, challenges faced and how to engage in more pointed action to achieve set objectives.

Abdulle counted the gains of the World Bank-funded ID program so far, saying at least one million citizens were already enrolled for it. He mentioned that more than 24 public and private sector services have also integrated the system, with the number of ID authentications for service access also growing by the day.

NIRA has been expanding use cases of the ID over the past months as part of a strategy to drive adoption. Somalia has a goal to reach 15 million issued national IDs by 2029, and also hopes to introduce the digital version of the ID card in 2026.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who officially closed the event on November 25, emphasized the importance of the national ID for the country, and urged every citizen to make sure they own it, especially those in rural and difficult-to-reach communities. He noted that the ID is not only to identify citizens but to enable them easily get access to important government services. President Mohamud said the ID card is also an important backbone of Somalia’s sustainable development and economic growth push.

Other speakers at the conference such as Prime Minister Hamsa Abdi Barre; the Minister of Interior Affairs Ali Yusuf Ali; and representatives of partner institutions such as the Central Bank of Somali, all underscored the necessity of the national ID as an indispensable factor for the country’s socio-economic progress.

Lionel Laurens, resident representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), a partner in Somalia’s digital public infrastructure development, praised the government for its commitment to the success of the ID initiative. He said already, it is proving to be useful in terms of streamlining access to services, Dawan Africa reports. The official encouraged Somalia to strengthen its partnerships and make the most of them, including identity events like the ID4Africa AGM where the country presented a progress report during this year’s edition in May.

The national identification conference, which ran from November 24-25, was marked by exhibitions and panel discussions on diverse digital public infrastructure (DPI) topics, but with the ultimate goal of sharing views on making the national ID card not just an identification tool for Somali citizens, but also a pillar of the country’s digital economy growth.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  government services  |  national ID  |  NIRA Somalia  |  Somalia