With help from the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), along with the UN Sri Lanka SDG Fund, the Sri Lankan government is working on a project called “OneRegistry” that will make civil registrations faster, easier to access, and fully digital.
The initiative aims to streamline civil registrations by replacing paper recordings with digital systems, linking them to government databases, and ensuring people understand their rights. By granting legal identity, empowering underserved communities, removing obstacles to necessary services, and promoting social inclusion OneRegistry initiative makes sure that no one is left behind.
Government leaders, UN agencies, development agencies, the private sector, and civil society organizations came together for the historic launch of “OneRegistry.” Speaking at the program’s launch, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya emphasized the program’s transformative potential and its role in advancing the government’s digital agenda and improving public administration.
Sri Lanka is a 50-in-5 first mover country. The 50-in-5 campaign is an initiative fronted by the UNDP, the World Bank and a coalition of civil society, industry and government partners, whose goal is to have 50 countries fully develop and deploy DPI in a safe, inclusive and interoperable manner in the next five years.
OneRegistry aims to combine digital innovation and institutional reform in partnership with important government partners, such as the Registrar General’s Department, the Ministry of Digital Economy, the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government. In order to ensure everyone’s legal identity, the project makes it easier to create a digital, interoperable, and inclusive CRVS system that prioritizes sustainability, scalability, and accessibility. OneRegistry, with an estimated 1.27 million beneficiaries, seeks to support sustainable development, inclusive digital transformation, and the foundation of interoperable public systems in Sri Lanka.
Lakshika Ganepola talked about the role of the Registrar General’s Department noting, “These efforts support national digital initiatives like the e-NIC and Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) projects, which help the country reach its goal of a unified and digitally inclusive society.” The initiative is expected to help almost 1.3 million people, including vulnerable groups, by making registration easier and service delivery better.
Administrative efficiency is not the only benefit of a digital civil registration system, she said noting that it saves parents from having to wait a long time for birth certificates. “It improves public health planning and emergency response by giving physicians and midwives quicker access to birth and death records. Additionally, it eliminates obstacles to government aid, healthcare, and pensions for underserved communities.”