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Bahrain - The digital transformation of the Births and Deaths System is now complete to meet citizens’ needs and contribute to sustainable development goals under the Government Plan (2023-2026), according to a top official.
This was announced yesterday by the Information and eGovernment Authority which has partnered with the Health Ministry and other entities to provide the above eServices now available through electronic channels, including the Bahrain national portal, bahrain.bh.
“This initiative aims to enhance the efficiency of birth and death registration by electronically integrating relevant entities and databases, digitising processes to improve government services for citizens and residents in line with Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030,” said an iGA statement.
iGA chief executive Mohammed Al Qaed highlighted that the digital transformation of the Births and Deaths System marks a significant achievement in Bahrain’s digital progress.
He also underlined the support of Interior Minister and Ministerial Committee for Information and Communication Technology (MCICT) chairman General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa to the national projects led by the authority, particularly those related to healthcare services, by linking them with systems supporting the civil affairs system.
Mr Al Qaed said that the project was to be completed in three phases with the development phase launched in 2019 after transferring the responsibility for birth and death registration from the Health Ministry to the iGA.
This phase included a comprehensive study of existing procedures, their re-engineering and updating the executive regulations outlining the details of the new Births and Deaths Law.
“The updates included new legal reporting periods for births and deaths and associated regulations for cases exceeding the legal deadlines,” he added.
“Awareness campaigns were also launched to inform stakeholders and the public about the updated law and executive regulations.”
The second phase involved electronic archiving of birth and death records, ensuring their secure digital storage to protect them from damage and enable immediate and instant retrieval.
This reduces time and effort, expedites requests and improves the user experience of eServices.
In the third phase, a new integrated system for births and deaths was developed, connecting all relevant entities, including public and private hospitals and civil registries.
This phase focused on the launch and implementation of the National Birth System in 2022 across all hospitals in Bahrain.
The National Death Reporting System was launched last year for reporting deaths in hospitals. The authority also incorporated user feedback during development, considering updated regulations for birth and death registration and certificate issuance.
Mr Al Qaed also mentioned that the key features of the system include eTransformation for reporting births and deaths in Bahrain’s hospitals, enabling instant electronic notifications without needing to visit the authority’s office.
Applications are submitted after receiving notifications from the Births and Deaths Registration Office, ensuring immediate updates to family data in the Population Registry and verifying accuracy through integration with four government systems.
Additional features include registering deceased newborns and issuing birth and death certificates via bahrain.bh.
The Births and Deaths System has also introduced the following new electronic services: Request Death Certificate, Modification of Death Certificate Details by Court Order, Verify Death Certificate by QR code, Application Management for Birth Certificate, Application Management for Death Certificate and Request for Birth Certificate Outside the Kingdom of Bahrain.
These services complement existing ones on bahrain.bh.
“The completion of this system supports the government’s efforts to reduce expenses, streamline procedures and accelerate transaction processing,” said the authority. “This minimises the documentation cycle for accessing various healthcare services, saving time and effort and enhancing the healthcare sector’s efficiency.”
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