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Honduras Set to Receive $40 Million in Funding for Digital Identity Verification Project
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The World Bank has approved a loan of $40 million to support Honduras’ efforts to digitize its civil registration and vital statistics system, aiming to improve identity verification services for citizens.
Improving Identity Verification Services
The project, titled ‘Strengthening Honduras’ National Civil Registry and Identification Ecosystem,’ seeks to automate the country’s civil registry, increase birth registration rates, and extend digital ID verification services to all Hondurans. The goal is to reach 97% birth registration rates and issue 1.3 million identification credentials to children and adolescents aged 6-17.
Key Components of the Project
- Automate the country’s civil registry
- Increase birth registration rates to 97%
- Issue 1.3 million identification credentials to children and adolescents aged 6-17
- Digitize about 50 administrative processes in Honduras, reducing reliance on paperwork
- Enhance digital government efforts
- Strengthen the National Registry of Persons’ (NRP) capacity to detect and respond to cyber incidents
Support from the World Bank
The loan was approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on December 18. The project will be implemented by the NRP, with support from the World Bank.
Reaction from Honduran Officials
Honduras’ Finance Minister, Rixi Moncada, hailed the support as an important step in ensuring the right to legal identity for Hondurans, a fundamental human right. “The government of President Xiomara Castro values the World Bank’s support as we implement our modernization agenda for the benefit of the Honduran people,” said Moncada.
Kinnon Scott, World Bank resident representative in Honduras, noted that the project will help accelerate human and economic development in Honduras by strengthening public institutions for more efficient service delivery. “We are pleased to provide support to the country through projects such as this one, which will help guarantee the right to an identity, proper registration, and the provision of an identification document for children,” said Scott.
Global Support for Digitization Efforts
The World Bank is providing seminar support to other countries, including Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mozambique, and the Philippines, to help them digitize and modernize public services delivery.