Indonesia to simplify digital birth certificates for babies born outside facilities

Indonesia's Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian announced plans to issue a circular for village heads to report infants born outside of health facilities. This measure aims to ensure these newborns can still obtain digital birth certificates. The initiative is part of a broader effort to simplify and expedite civil registration processes across the archipelago.

Karnavian's announcement came after attending the launch of digital birth certificate services through the integration of the SatuSehat health platform and the Population Identification System (SIAK) at the Pasar Minggu community health center in Jakarta. He expressed appreciation for the Health Minister's efforts in connecting SatuSehat data with SIAK for birth certificate issuance. This digital transformation allows for birth certificates to be issued on the same day a child is born, either directly to the health facility where the birth occurred or sent to the parents' WhatsApp or email.

The forthcoming circular will also mandate village heads to promptly report resident deaths to the local Civil Registration Office (Dukcapil). Karnavian believes village heads are best positioned to provide this information, which will aid in issuing death certificates and updating population data without requiring citizens to visit Dukcapil offices themselves. "I ask that the circular also include reporting the death data of residents. Because the ones who know first are the village heads," he stated.

The launch event was attended by several high-ranking officials, including National Energy Council Chairman Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Rini Widyantini, and Head of the Central Statistics Agency Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, underscoring the government's commitment to digitalizing public services.