The low rates of birth and death registration in Bangladesh are significantly hindering the protection of citizens’ rights, public health planning, and effective development management. Reforming the existing Birth and Death Registration Act and making health facility–based registration mandatory is one of the most urgent policy priorities, speakers said at a journalists’ workshop titled “Birth and Death Registration in Bangladesh: Progress, Challenges and Way Forward.”

The workshop was held at the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) Bhaban in the capital and was organized by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI). The two-day workshop, held on March 3 and 4, brought together 32 journalists working in print, television, and online media.

Currently, the birth registration rate in Bangladesh stands at only 50 percent, while the death registration rate is 47 percent. This means that although thousands of people are born and die every day, nearly half of these events are not recorded in official state records. As a result, a large number of citizens remain effectively outside the state’s administrative system.

Experts noted that birth and death registration is a fundamental means for ensuring legal identity, access to education and healthcare, inheritance rights, social protection, and voting rights. Citizens without registration effectively become socially and economically invisible, increasing their vulnerability to child labor, child marriage, human trafficking, and discrimination. Furthermore, the absence of reliable birth and death data undermines effective development planning and evidence-based policymaking.

Under the current law, the responsibility for registration largely rests with families, while health facilities are not legally required to ensure registration. However, nearly two-thirds of births in Bangladesh now take place in healthcare facilities. Due to the lack of an automatic registration system, many births remain unregistered. Countries in South Asia such as the Maldives, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka have achieved near-universal registration by introducing health facility–based registration systems. Experts believe that similar reform is urgently needed in Bangladesh.

Nazrul Islam, Country Coordinator, Vital Strategies said, “Alongside reforming the existing law, effective implementation must be ensured to attain universal birth-death registration.”

Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh Country Lead of GHAI, said, “Assigning registration responsibilities to healthcare facilities will help Bangladesh achieve the target of universal registration set by UNESCAP, as well as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.9, which aims to provide legal identity for all.”

Sajjadur Rahman, Deputy Editor, Business Standard said, “In order to make reform of the birth and death registration law a national priority, media must push policymakers by publishing continuous reports highlighting the multi-faceted need for registration.”

ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA was also present as a discussant. PROGGA’s Head of Programs, Md. Hasan Shahriar and Coordinator Mashiat Abedin delivered presentations in the workshop.