GIZ and ACCESS Health International collectively authored the paper titled “Efficient Delivery of social protection: Leveraging Interoperability with CRVS Systems“. Ms. Anita Mittal, Senior Advisor (Social Protection) at GIZ, India and Ms. Komal Malhotra, Project Head, ACCESS Health International, co-authored the paper that was published in the Asia-Pacific Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Research Forum.
The paper highlights the importance of leveraging interoperability between social protection programs and CRVS systems to enhance the efficient delivery of social protection benefits. It provides valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of integrating social protection programs with CRVS systems, drawing on examples and best practices from countries in the Asia-Pacific region. It also highlights the potential benefits of such integration, including improved targeting of beneficiaries, reduction of fraud and duplication, increased transparency and accountability, and enhanced data-driven decision-making.
Countries around the world implement several Social Protection programs. Determining the eligibility of potential beneficiaries necessitates information exchange across different social protection information systems and foundational platforms such as Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS), identification system, and payment system, as well as with systems from other sectors. However, these systems often operate in silos, making interoperability a challenge. To address this issue, the Digital Convergence Initiative (DCI) was launched in September 2021 under Universal Social Protection (USP2030) as a collaborative effort by USP2030 members, governments, development partners, civil society, and the private sector to develop integrated and interoperable social protection delivery systems.
This paper presents the research work on the role of CRVS for social protection delivery and the value proposition of global standards that would make social protection systems and CRVS systems from different vendors interoperable by design. The paper was presented at Asia-Pacific CRVS Research Forum that was held from 3 – 4 April 2023, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The fully online event offered an opportunity for research, information sharing, and capacity-building for participants.