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ICT Landscape Survey for Digital Birth Registration in Lao PDRJanuary 2015

Plan International Lao PDR

ICT Landscape survey for Digital Birth Registration in Lao PDR January 2015

Final Draft 22nd February 2014 Ludovic Pommier Independent Consultant

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Acknowledgements

The Writer would like to extend his heartfelt thanks to the Citizen Management Department of the

Ministry of Home Affairs of Lao PDR, in particular to Mrs. Khonesavanh Voralath and to Mr. Khansith

Luangxay, for sharing insights about birth registration in Lao PDR.

The Author is particularly obliged to all staff of Plan International Lao PDR. Specific mention is

warranted for Dr. Andres Montes, Plan International Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Adviser,

who kindly shared his vast knowledge about civil registration and was always available for intellectual

debates that helped shape this study. He also proved an astute and supportive reviewer.

Numerous members of the Lao Government and staff of its development partners have freely

provided assistance and information. Amongst them, Dr. Chu Hong Anh, Consultant for Health

System Development at the World Health Organization, always made time for inspiring discussions.

Last, but not least, Ms. Anita Vannasouk proved a dependable and efficient translator and

coordinator. Without her good spirit and sense of organization, writing this study would have proven

a strenuous task.

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Contents List of Abbreviations and Glossary ......................................................................................... v

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ viii

1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Perspective about ICT and Digital Birth Registration ................................................... 1

1.2. Notes for readers ........................................................................................................ 1

2. Brief overview of the ICT sector in Lao PDR ................................................. 1

2.1. Lao ICT in an international context .............................................................................. 2

2.2. Size and nature of Lao ICT market ............................................................................. 2

2.3. Access to communication and physical infrastructure ................................................. 4

2.3.1. A telecommunication market dominated by wireless/mobile ............................. 4

3. Elements of ICT for Digital Birth Registration ................................................ 8

3.1. Communication and connectivity ................................................................................ 8

3.1.1. Voice services .................................................................................................. 8

3.1.2. SMS/USSD services ........................................................................................ 8

3.1.3. Physical connectivity ........................................................................................ 9

3.1.4. 3G coverage ...................................................................................................10

3.2. Data storage and security ..........................................................................................10

3.2.1. Data storage ...................................................................................................10

3.2.2. Data security ...................................................................................................11

3.3. Data privacy, certification and digital signature ..........................................................11

3.3.1. Backup and archiving of data ..........................................................................11

3.4. Software and application development ......................................................................12

3.4.1. Lao script and language ..................................................................................12

3.4.2. Importance of Open Source ............................................................................13

3.4.3. Human resources and capacity .......................................................................13

3.5. Obtaining and operating hardware .............................................................................14

4. The birth registration process ......................................................................14

4.1. Universal Birth Registration........................................................................................14

4.2. Birth Registration in Lao PDR: a brief review of issues ..............................................15

4.2.1. Status of birth registration in Lao PDR ............................................................15

4.2.2. Legal Environment ..........................................................................................16

4.2.3. Key issues for CRVS .......................................................................................17

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5. Scenario for ICT as an enabler for Digital Birth Registration ........................18

5.1. Key stakeholders .......................................................................................................19

5.1.1. Ministry of Health – DHIS2 ..............................................................................19

5.1.2. Ministry of Education and Sports .....................................................................19

5.1.3. Ministry of Public Investment / Lao Statistics Bureau.......................................20

5.2. Key constraints ..........................................................................................................20

5.3. Options for Birth Registration .....................................................................................20

5.3.1. Mass registration of children attending schools without a birth certificate ........21

5.3.2. Continuous registration of all children ..............................................................22

5.4. Other elements of a birth registration solution ............................................................25

5.5. Phases of a possible DBR solution ............................................................................25

6. Conclusion ...................................................................................................26

Appendix 1. Context for the mission ................................................................................32

Appendix 2. ICT companies in Lao PDR .........................................................................33

Appendix 3. Sample birth certificate and birth certificate request form from Vientiane Capital .........................................................................................................34

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List of Tables Table 1 - Telecommunication market in Lao PDR (2012) ........................................................................ 2

Table 2 - Main telecommunication operators in Lao PDR....................................................................... 4

Table 3 - Sample prices for physical connectivity.................................................................................... 9

Table 4 - Coverage and sample prices 3G connectivity ......................................................................... 10

Table 5 - Status of children registration in Lao PDR (2012)................................................................... 15

Table 6 - Comparative assessment of options for continuous birth registration ................................. 25

List of Figures Figure 1 - Lao ICT market and GDP (2011) .............................................................................................. 3

Figure 2 - Mobile Market Share in 2012 .................................................................................................. 5

Figure 3 - Lao PDR fiber optic network .................................................................................................... 6

Figure 4 - Lao PDR e-Government project ............................................................................................... 7

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List of Abbreviations and Glossary ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line: data communication technology that enables

fast data transmission over copper telephone lines.

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

CDMA Code Division Multiple Access: one of technology to transmit voice or data for mobile phone. Mostly used in the US. Equivalent to GSM.

CRVS Civil Registration and Vital Statistics

DBR Digital Birth Registration

DHIS2 District Health Information System 2: an open source software to gather health statistics that WHO is rolling out worldwide, learn more on www.dhis2.org

DNS Domain Name System: a system that routes requests through the internet.

DOES District Office of the Ministry of Education and Sports

DoH District Office of the Ministry of Health

DOHA District Office of the Ministry of Home Affairs

DPLC Domestic Private Leased Circuit: a system to connect 2 networks (or computers) with dedicated, secure, high quality and high speed point-to-point digital connectivity (usually using fiber optic).

ETL Enterprise Telecom Lao

FTTH Fiber To The Home

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GNI Gross National Income

GoL Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

GSM Global System for Mobile Communications: one of the technologies to transmit voice or data for mobile phone.

GTPA Government Telecommunication Project Agency

ICD-10 Latest International Classification of Diseases (by WHO)

ICT Information and Communication Technology

InSTEDD Innovative Support for Emergencies Diseases and Disasters

IPO Initial Public Offering

ITU International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations

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Java A programming language widely used for website

JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency

LANIC Lao National Internet Center (of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications)

LaoCERT Lao Computer Emergency Response Team

LICA Lao ICT Commerce Association

Linux An open source operating system. Many websites are hosted on linux servers.

LSB Lao Statistics Bureau (of the Ministry of Planning and Investment)

LSIS Lao Social Indicators Survey

LTC Lao Telecom Company

MoD Ministry of Defense (of GoL)

MOES Ministry of Education and Sports (of GoL)

MoH Ministry of Health (of GoL)

MOHA Ministry of Home Affairs (of GoL)

MoJ Ministry of Justice (of GoL)

MOST Ministry of Science and Technology (of GoL)

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MPI Ministry of Planning and Investment (of GoL)

MPS Ministry of Public Safety (of GoL)

MPT Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (of GoL)

MySQL An open source relational database management system. Used to organize the data of many dynamic websites.

NAS Network Access Storage: a network device that can be used to store/backup data reliably at a low cost.

NSEDP National Socio-Economic Development Plan (of GoL)

NUOL National University of Lao PDR

OCR Optical Character Recognition: a technology to convert written or printed text into machine-encoded text.

ODA Overseas Development Assistance

OT OpenType: the most common format for computer fonts.

PHP A programming language with widespread use for websites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_font

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POHA Provincial Office of the Ministry of Home Affairs

SMS Short Text Message

STL Star Telecom Lao

TOR Terms of Reference

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund

UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund.

USD United States Dollar

USSD Unstructured Supplementary Service Data: a protocol that allows instant communication through SMS type messages using basic handsets without internet connectivity.

WB The World Bank

WFP The World Food Program of the United Nations

WHO World Health Organization

WiMax A similar technology to WIFI with a much larger range (up to 50 km). Usually used to provide internet connection to users at a cheaper cost than physical lines.

WTO World Trade Organization

viii

Executive Summary This study presents an ICT landscape for Digital Birth Registration (DBR) in Lao PDR undertaken in

January 2015. Introduction of ICT in the birth registration process in Lao PDR is viewed as an

opportunity to redefine processes, institutional arrangements, legislations, and resource needs.

The ICT market in Lao PDR represents 8% of the Gross domestic Product, which is well below the size

of ICT markets in neighboring countries. To the exception of telecommunication operators, most

actors are small and medium size enterprises that are likely to be direly affected by the opening of

the ASEAN Economic Community at the end of 2015.

Approximately 80% of the population has access to telephony and 17% to internet, with a

concentration in urban centers. In the last few years, Lao PDR has been extending its mobile phone

coverage rapidly under tight regulations that ensure profitability for telecommunication operators

(ETL, LTC, STL and VimpelCom Lao). On the contrary, broadband internet is progressing at a slow

pace due to the prohibitive cost of infrastructure in a mountainous and sparsely populated country.

There are several technological elements that are crucial when defining a DBR solution in Lao PDR:

Lao language is not available on inexpensive handsets that represent the majority of devices in

rural Lao.

3G covers most of the districts and is by far more widespread than broadband connectivity.

The eGovernment Data Center and the Lao National Internet Center are key actors for any

governmental ICT project.

Data security and confidentiality are difficult to guarantee.

There is a dynamic open source software community with sufficient skills for developing DBR

solutions.

In 2012, only 33.1% of children under the age of 5 had a birth certificate in Lao PDR. The Government

is signatory to all relevant international agreements and, during the latest Ministerial Conference on

Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific in November 2014, it has shown strong

commitment to improving birth registration. In addition to technological constraints, DBR is impaired

by a Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system that is still being developed by the recently

established Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA). It is strongly recommended that any efforts at

establishing a DBR system in Lao PDR ought to be preceded by (1) review, improvement and

standardization of the operating procedures of MOHA at all levels with a focus on inter-ministerial

collaboration; (2) intensive capacity building for MOHA staff; and (3) development of a

comprehensive legislation related to CRVS.

The last section of this study presents possible scenarios for a DBR solution to be implemented under

the CRVS strategy 2015-2024, currently being drafted by MOHA. Key actors envisaged, in addition to

MOHA, are the Ministry of Education and Sports, the Ministry of Health and the Lao Statistics Bureau,

which are already operating computerized systems to gather statistical data from districts.

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To rapidly increase the number of registered children, it is proposed that a national registration

campaign take place in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. For continuous registration of all

children, four options are presented (see table below).

Comparative assessment of options for continuous birth registration

Option Training cost

Hard-ware cost

Connectivity Cost

Legislation /cooperation

changes

Cost for population

Delay in obtaining birth

certificate

Compliance with best practices

Option 1 Village Chief as key informant

Very High None Low Very low Low High Very low

Option 2 Village Chief as registrar

Very High None Low Very high Very low None Low

Option 3: health certifies birth requests

High High High High Low Medium High

Option 4: Mobile DOHA in Health Center

Medium None Low Low Low Low Very High

ICT Landscape survey for Digital Birth Registration in Lao PDR – January 2015

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1. Introduction

1. This study aims to provide an ICT landscape for Digital Birth Registration (DBR) in Lao PDR. The

context for the study, that was commissioned by Plan International Lao PDR and took place in

January 2015, can be found in Appendix 1.

1.1. Perspective about ICT and Digital Birth Registration

2. A curse that plagues many ICT for Development Projects is the “technology trying to find a

problem” paradigm1. A strong stance is taken throughout this report and introduction of ICT in the

birth registration process in Lao PDR is viewed as an opportunity to redefine processes, institutional

arrangements, legislations, and resource needs.

3. In Lao PDR, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) is in charge of Civil Registration and Vital

Statistics (CRVS). It has been created in 20112. Consequently, it has not been included in the National

and Socio-Economic Development Plan 2010-20153 and this affects its capacity to mobilize funds. As

a result, progresses on CRVS have been slow, despite commitment at the highest level of GoL4. Thus,

to ensure that potential options for Digital Birth Registration (DBR) proposed in this report are

framed in the most useful manner, two practical issues are mostly focused upon:

Ensuring a child is registered as accurately as possible in a timely manner after birth (birth record)

at the cheapest cost to her/his parents or legal guardians (including indirect costs).

Ensuring that a birth certificate is issued with the lowest direct and indirect costs for families.

1.2. Notes for readers

4. An ICT landscape assessment can easily become a very technical document and it should always

be highly contextualized, i.e. it should focus on aspects relevant to the task at hand (birth registration

in this case). Thus, the Author has made several editorial choices:

Technical terms will be avoided as much as possible (some are explained in the glossary).

This assessment focuses on ICT aspects relevant to DBR and the overview of ICT market will be

kept brief.

ICT will be considered as including all information, no matter the medium.

5. Information presented can serve decision makers in the Government of Lao PDR (GoL) by

offering a range of options for DBR, but also readers with advanced knowledge about CRVS, who are

attempting to understand the Lao context.

2. Brief overview of the ICT sector in Lao PDR

6. In the last 5 years, Lao PDR’s economy has exhibited exceptional yearly growth rates (estimated

at 8%5) with a shift from an agrarian economy to one based on extractive industries (mining and

plantations), electricity production and a budding tourism sector.


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2.1. Lao ICT in an international context

7. The Lao Social Indicators Survey (LSIS) survey 20126 shows that use of computers and internet is

mostly limited to the urban population in large towns (namely Vientiane, Savannakhet, Paxe and

Luang Prabang), with 47.9% of urban dwellers having ever used a computer (7.9 for rural) and 29.6%

(3.2% for rural) having ever used the internet.

8. It is very low by international standards as confirmed by Lao position as the 109th country out of

144 on the World Economic Forum Network Readiness Index7. More importantly for the area of

concern of this report, Lao PDR government is also assessed to be in the bottom quartile when it

comes to government “eReadiness” with a position of 152nd out of 193 on the United Nations 2014

e–Government Development Index8 (composite index taking into account online services,

infrastructure and human capital), with no substantive evolution from 2012, when it was 153 out of

1909.

2.2. Size and nature of Lao ICT market

9. There are few estimations available on the overall value of the ICT market in Lao PDR. GDP

statistics available from the Lao Statistics Bureau include ICT products and services under several

different headings (including Services; Transport, storage, post and communication, services;

Financial intermediation services). The most recent estimate of the size of the ICT and

communication market for Lao PDR is given in a joint data book by the World Bank and International

Telecommunication Union (ITU) presented in the table below.

Table 1 - Telecommunication market in Lao PDR (2012)

Source: Adapted from The World Bank and the International Telecommunication Union, 2014. The Little Data Book on Information and Communication Technology 2014. Washington, D.C.: the World Bank.

Lao PDR Lower Middle income countries

East Asia & Pacific

2005 2012 2012 2012

Economic and social context

Population (millions) 6 7 2,507 1,992

Urban population (% of total) 27 35 39 50

GNI per capita, World Bank Atlas method ($) 450 1,270 1,893 4,884

GDP growth, 2000–05 and 2005–12 (avg. annual %) 6.2 8.0 6.0 9.1

Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) 73 71 94

Gross primary, secondary, tertiary school enrollment (%) 58 60 64 71

Sector efficiency and capacity

Telecommunications revenue (% of GDP) 1.7 1.7 2.5 2.2

Telecommunications investment (% of revenue) 63.0 8.9 20.5 20.0


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10. Lao PDR has one the smallest ICT market proportionally to its GDP, be it in comparison to

countries in the same income group or with countries in the same geographical zone. Moreover, this

market is not dynamic and follows GDP growth (same proportion of GDP in 2005 and 2012).

Figure 1 - Lao ICT market and GDP (2011)

Source: Adapted from LICA, 2011. Lao ICT Market Survey 2011. Vientiane: JICA.

11. In line with the evolution of the overall Lao economy mentioned in the introduction to this

section, the ICT sector has started a transition from hardware provision to service provision10. This is

a positive development towards a more mature ICT market. However, this transition is impaired by a

number of factors:

Low quality of training.

Brain-drain and frequent staff turnaround.

Formal and informal11 trade barriers.

Lack of independent regulatory body.

Unstable connectivity.

12. Countries that saw their ICT sector constrained by similar issues in the past have proven that

investment in education and connectivity infrastructure could prove beneficial in nurturing an

endogenous ICT market12.

13. This warrants a note of caution. As expressed by most respondents in a survey in 201213, one

of the highest threats to the development of a mature ICT sector in Lao PDR is the ASEAN Economic

Community, that is scheduled to enable free movement of skilled labor, ICT-hardware14 and service

provision by the end of 2015. Lao PDR is situated at the cross-road of large ICT markets that have

developed outsourcing for many years (China, Thailand and Vietnam). It seems unlikely that Lao ICT


4

companies will be able to survive in a competitive regional market, that rather than removing some

of the key constraints that prevent the industry from maturing, is more likely to exacerbate them.

2.3. Access to communication and physical infrastructure

2.3.1. A telecommunication market dominated by wireless/mobile

14. The Lao telecommunication market has now stabilized after a crisis in 2011 due to over-

competition on voice call rates and subsequent uncompetitive practices (such as blockage of

interconnection between network), which was resolved by an agreement between the 4 major

telecommunication companies in Lao PDR15 - LTC (Lao Telecom Company), ETL (Enterprise Telecom

Lao), STL (Star Telecom Lao) and VimpelCom Lao (Beeline, formerly known as Tigo) – and by swift

action from the GoL with the promulgation of the Law on Telecommunication16 (recently reinforced

by a GoL’s Decision setting rules for competition that forbids price dumping17). The tight regulation of

prices for voice communication has moved competition to the arena of wireless data services, a

market that is not regulated as strictly.

Table 2 - Main telecommunication operators in Lao PDR

Operator History and ownership Wire

connectivity

Wireless

connectivity

Voice

service

Data services

LTC Established in 1996

Lao Government 51% and Thaicom

(Thailand) 49%

ADSL, fiber

3.5G, 4G Landline,

mobile

ADSL, Lease Line,

Dial-up, DPLC (local

loop), FTTH, 3.5G,

4G…

ETL

Re-established in 2000

State-owned company, Lao

Government 100%

ETL was scheduled to sell first 30% IPO

on November 2011 (delay),

Government to continue to hold 70%.

ADSL, fiber

3.5G Landline,

mobile

ADSL, Lease Line,


loop), FTTH, 3.5G…

STL Established in 2008

Lao Asia Telecom 51% and Viettel

Global (Vietnam) 49%

Started the new brand “Unitel” on

October 2009.

ADSL, fiber

3.5G Landline,

mobile

ADSL, Lease Line,


loop), FTTH, 3.5G…

VimpelCom Lao

(Beeline)

Established in 2003, (re-established in

2011) Lao Government 22% and

VimpelCom 78%

VimpelCom (Russia) bought 78%

shares from Millicom International

Cellular on March 2011

No (rent

network of

other

providers for

connecting

base station)

3.5G, WiMax Landline,

mobile

3.5G


5

Planet Online Established in 1997

Lao Private Company

No 4G (data

only) –

Vientiane

Capital only.

No 4G

Sky Telecom

Established in 2005. Since 2011, Sky

Telecom is 100% owned by the

Ministry of Defense. It will be the

operator of the government fiber

backbone when it starts commercial

operation (for now managed as not-

for-profit carrier neutral by LANIC).

ADSL, fiber Currently

restructuring

, serving

MoD with

CDMA

Operator of

government fiber

optic backbone

(and WiMax in the

near future. Service

offer not yet

defined.

Source: adapted from Lao PDR Telecommunication Sector Development18, from Country Report on “Internet Access”19, and from interviews conducted in January 2015 with LTC, ETL, STL and LANIC.

Figure 2 - Mobile Market Share in 2012

Source: Xilyvong, P., LANIC, 2013. Presentation on Country Report “Internet Access”. In 2013 Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF): Current Lao ICT, 4-6 September 2013, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

15. Data for 2013 give an estimated 4,481,395 subscribers for voice over GSM (national

penetration of 68.95%), 678,697 subscribers for voice on land line (10.44% penetration) with a total

of 5,160,092 subscribers for voice and a penetration rate of 79.39%20. Number of subscribers to GSM

services needs to be considered with some caution as many urban users own several mobile devices.

16. For internet, in the middle of 2014, the same source estimates 1,105,000 users for a

penetration of 17% (from 8% in 2013 and 3.9% in 2012). Data from The World Bank and the ITU21

indicate that in 2012 only 27.6% of the internet traffic transited through physical lines (from end-

users). This is coherent with the slow growth and penetration of landline in Lao PDR, where the

market for both voice and data is dominated by wireless access growing at a tremendous pace, in a

largely untapped market.

ETL 15%

LTC 40%

STL 35 %

VLC 10%


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2.3.1.1. Physical Infrastructure

17. ETL, LTC and STL have all laid a mix of over-the-ground and underground fiber optic cables,

usually along the main road (road 13 to the North and South; and road 9). Under the e-Government

project, the government has set-up an underground network that connects all provincial capitals.

The total length of the fiber optics network (public and commercial) in Lao PDR was 63,060 km in

2014 with international gateways with China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar at 20

cross-border ports and a total bandwidth capacity of 13Gbps (from 2.5Gbps in 2013) as shown on

map below22.

18. While LTC, ETL and STL have all claimed that they could offer fiber optics or ADSL connections

to all districts, this is doubtful as (1) when prompted they expressed doubts; and (2) other projects

are using 3G to connect districts. This will be discussed in a further section.

Figure 3 - Lao PDR fiber optic network

Source: Phothirath, S., MPT, 2014. Presentation on Lao PDR Telecommunication Sector Development. In UNESCAP: Expert Consultation on the Asia‐Pacific Information Superhighway and Regional Connectivity, 1‐2 October 2014, Thimphu, Bhutan


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2.3.1.2. e-Government Project

19. Since 2009, the Lao Government has embarked on a very ambitious e-Government Project

that aims to:

Provide a high-speed network for all government facilities, up to district level (fiber optic up to

province first).

Centralize all internet traffic through the Lao National Internet Center (LANIC).

Operate infrastructure in collaboration with all telecom providers, through a government

operator (Sky Telecom, being currently restructured under the Government Telecommunication

Project Agency- GTPA).

Figure 4 - Lao PDR e-Government project

Source: LANIC23.


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20. LANIC data center is not yet fully functional. Currently, many ministries are hosting websites

on servers located within their premises. This often results in less than optimal quality of service due

to (1) low expertise; and (2) lack of specialized hardware.

21. Discussion with the e-Government Center and the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications

(MPT)24 led to understand that the project was suffering delays and current status is as follows:

Fiber optic infrastructure in place for all provinces.

E-Government services are not operational yet, and unlikely to be so in the near future.

GTPA in place, but Sky Telecom is not yet ready to operate on a commercial basis.

Centralization of all internet traffic has not yet started.

LANIC is the registrar for .la and provide hosting to GoL websites (free) and other organizations.

Delays have been experienced due to (1) security issues (discussed in a subsequent section); and

(2) difficulties in maintaining hardware provided by China under ODA, that was built specifically

for the Lao e-Government project (spare parts can only be obtained from the Chinese

government).

3. Elements of ICT for Digital Birth Registration

22. Most DBR solutions include a mix of different technologies. Rather than providing an a priori

ICT landscape for DBR, key thematic areas related to technology25 and its application for DBR are

reviewed in order to provide an easy reference for future attempt at DBR and CRVS design.

23. In Lao PDR, most of ICT infrastructure and organization is under the mandate of MPT, with

the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) responsible for setting technical standards26 and

regulating electronic transaction standards/procedures27. There are copious overlaps between the

mandates of MPT and MOST and intra-MPT between the e-Government Department and LANIC.

3.1. Communication and connectivity

3.1.1. Voice services

24. GSM coverage was estimated at 72% in 201228 and the fast growth of the mobile market

tends to indicate that it has widely increased since. Although no precise GSM coverage maps are

available, discussions with telecommunication companies indicate that they are now covering most

of the population with GSM (STL claims 96% coverage for GSM and 70% coverage for 3G).

25. LTC, ETL and STL are all offering toll-free telephone numbers (price depends on volumes of

communication with an average price of 800 kip per minute for voice communication). Examples of

applications go as far back as 200929 and technical know-how is widely available in Lao (amongst

others, InSTEDD iLab Southeast Asia - based in Cambodia - has worked extensively in Lao PDR and

has developed an easy to set-up interactive voice service, Verboice30).

3.1.2. SMS/USSD services

26. Worldwide, many of the DBR solutions that achieved breakthroughs in increasing the number

of registrations are making use of mobile phones to transmit data from villages, Health Centers,


9

schools or government offices to the equivalent of a Civil Registrar. Multiple projects have attempted

to harness the power of cheap data transmission by SMS in Lao PDR (for example, see the

Smallholder Development Project31). All telecommunication companies are offering SMS and USSD32

gateways, but cheap handsets - that represent the majority of mobile phones in Lao countryside - do

not support Lao script (supported by all smartphones). This is a major stumbling block (there was a

failed attempt by Tigo, now Beeline, to launch a cheap handset with Lao character in 2009) and it

renders the use of SMS or of USSD inappropriate for DBR in Lao PDR.

27. Indeed, the use of SMS for data transmission has to be associated with a coding system for

the translation of Lao into Roman alphabet by users. Combined with training and documentation,

this is possible for sending very basic information. However, this cannot be envisaged for sending

more complex data, such as names.

3.1.3. Physical connectivity

28. All provinces are connected to the e-Government fiber optic backbone and are serviced by at

least one of the major internet providers with physical connectivity. ETL, LTC and STL claim 100%

connectivity for districts through either ADSL or fiber optic. This could not be verified and, during

discussion with operators, they admitted that physical connectivity is not yet fully developed. In the

opinion of the Author, there is little hope that this will improve in the near future because: (1)

internet is mostly accessed through mobile devices in Lao PDR countryside; (2) a mountainous terrain

makes for prohibitive cost of laying out a comprehensive infrastructure; and (3) growing urbanization

reduces commercial incentives for equipping remote areas.

29. Broadly, two forms of physical connectivity are available at district level: direct internet

access (Fiber to the Home - FTTH - or ADSL) and local loop (DPLC or other). Direct internet access

connects a user to the internet as it is understood by most people. Local loop connects 2 networks

and can be used to connect users in districts (a single computer is a network in its own right) to the e-

Government backbone at provincial level. Lao PDR physical network infrastructure is still in

development and users have to bear the cost of connecting to the closest fiber optic or telephone

wire, which renders physical connectivity very costly to the exception of large urban centers. The lack

of infrastructure is also reflected in the abnormally high cost of DPLC in comparison to FTTH (ration

from 1 to 10 compared to a ratio from 1 to 5 in Cambodia).

Table 3 - Sample prices for physical connectivity

FTTH Local Loop / DPLC ADSL

Company Extra cost 1 Mbps (mth)

or min.

10 Mbps

(mth) or max.

Extra cost 1 Mbps

(mth)

10 Mbps

(mth)

Extra cost 1 Mbps

(mth)

10 Mbps

(mth) or max.

LTC Modem: 150 $

Cable: 93.75 $ + 0.375

$/m after 150 m

Fixed IP : 6.25 $/mth

40 $ 312.5 $ Instal.: 500 $ 312.5 $ 275 $ Modem:

35 $

35 $ N/A – Max.

bandwidth 2

Mbps

ETL Instal.: 187.5 $ 62.5 $ (3

Mbps)

112.5 $ (5

Mbps)

625 $ under 2

km

312.5 $ 1,500 $ Instal.:

62.5 $

125 $ 162.5 $ for 1.5

Mbps

STL Instal.: 50$ 30$ 162,5 $ 100 $/km 420 $ 2,366 $ Instal.:

50$

30$ 162.5$

Source: telecommunication operators in January 2015.


10

30. Note: Exchange rate of 1 USD = 8,000 kip has been used. Prices are available for all

bandwidths and 1 Mbps and 10 Mbps have been chosen as representative samples. Connectivity

through local loop would also imply the payment of a fee to Sky Telecom, once it is fully operational.

3.1.4. 3G coverage

31. Physical connectivity is very sparse outside of district capitals or away from the main roads

(along where fiber optic cables are running). Telecommunication companies make various claims as

to their coverage, based on simulations (models of waves diffusion are used in conjunction with map

of base stations). These are summarized in the table below, together with costs in January 2015

(Beeline has been omitted as it targets the affluent urban youths with value-added services and has

very little 3G coverage outside of the main urban centers).

Table 4 - Coverage and sample prices 3G connectivity

Pay-as-you-go Monthly subscription Company Coverage 3G Modem Sim card

Type Price/ Gb Data Qty Price/Gb

LTC 958 base stations 30 $ Normal 300kip/Mb 1 GB 50,000 kip

Net Sim 90kip/Mb 5 GB 50,000 kip

ETL Provincial capitals and urban districts

31.25 $ Normal 300kip/Mb 1 GB 50,000 kip


STL 70% nationwide 100 % province level 1500 base stations

20 $ Normal 300kip/Mb 1 GB 40,000 kip


Source: telecommunication operators in January 2015.

Note: Net Sim is a type of Sim card that allows only data communication, not voice. Normal Sim cards

allow both voice and data.

32. 3G connectivity is available in all district capitals (especially on the STL network). It is by far

the most reliable method to access internet in rural Lao, even more so given the new Law on

Telecommunication and its recent amendments33 than promote network interconnectivity between

telecommunication providers. In addition, as prices for voice communication have been agreed upon

between providers, most are now competing on data services. This holds the promise of making

mobile data access more attractive in the near future.

3.2. Data storage and security

33. In any CRVS system, there is a need to store and distribute data from/to central to/from local

levels. Some form of central level data storage, in addition to possible local storage, is absolutely

necessary.

3.2.1. Data storage

34. At the time of writing, the e-Government data center is the preferred host for servers of

projects working with the GoL. The next ICT strategy (currently developed for the coming up 8th

NSEDP) is expected to have provisions for the e-Government centers to be transferred to LANIC

management (LANIC has more funds earned through its activity as registrar for “.la”). Several officials

indicated that if/when this occurs, LANIC data center may become a mandatory host for government


11

projects (this is in line with the will to centralize information control). The e-Government data center

has recently received an overall upgrade with financing and technical assistance from Singapore,

Vietnam and China34. Data can either be stored on shared servers or on servers provided by a specific

project/organization, and the data center does not offer dedicated servers.

3.2.2. Data security

35. There are serious concerns as to the ability of the e-Government data Center to ensure the

security of data/websites hosted. In the last few years, security was compromised at several

occasions with a variety of cyber-attacks. Most attacks were unsophisticated (DNS request Flood and

simple fishing attacks) and this points to a very low level of expertise in network security. As a result,

the Lao Computer Emergency Response Team (LaoCERT) was created in 201235 and is now under the

management of LANIC, with support from ITU36. However, discussions with officials from LANIC

indicate that LaoCert is insufficiently staffed, financed and trained. For the time being, any solution

that would imply storing data or applications on servers in the e-Government data center does need

to cater for its own security.

36. This does not imply the use of resources from outside of Lao PDR as the private sector,

following experience with banking security, is offering security audits (2 firms visited, Cyberia and Lao

IT Dev Ltd mentioned GoL as a main client for data security, which is a growing area of business).

3.3. Data privacy, certification and digital signature

37. Data privacy is brushed upon in the decree regulating internet usage in Lao PDR37. However,

exceptions are provided for Government services to access private data, without the intervention of

an independent judiciary, should there be any concerns about State’s security. Data privacy for

individual citizens is thus contingent on concepts that are open to a wide range of interpretations.

38. The use of electronic documents is regulated by the Law on Electronic Transaction38. It

explicitly excludes many of the documents directly useful in the recording of vital events, including

certificates related to births, marriages, divorces, migration and deaths. This is understandable in

view of the lack of legislation and technical standards for document certification in Lao PDR. The

aforementioned law provides for the regulation of Certification Authorities (CA)39, either national or

foreign. However, at the time of writing, there is no CA registered/approved by MOST, although

purchasing is possible from international CA (e.g. Symantec or others).

39. Interviews with Senior Official in LANIC indicate that one of the key focuses of MPT for the 8th

NSEDP will be to develop appropriate legislation and standards for digital signature and CA, and to

build the necessary capacity and infrastructure to ensure that a Lao CA is in operation.

3.3.1. Backup and archiving of data

3.3.1.1. Digital data

40. While hosting can be provided on servers in the e-government data center, no back-up

services are offered. Thus, organizations or projects that wish to host websites in the e-government


12

data center ought to use their own physical server, for which they can easily provide a hardware

backup solution (NAS, external hard drive…).

3.3.1.2. Paper information

41. Storage of paper information: at central level, MOHA buildings are located in the new Prime

Minister complex. However, there are no facilities to store paper documents securely (fire or

flooding proof storage rooms or buildings). In provinces and districts, the situation is heterogeneous.

Nonetheless, the following has been observed during field trips (this holds for many of the districts

and provinces):

There are only basic filling systems relying on cardboard folders.

No fire or flood protection is available.

42. Scanning of paper-based information: no large-scale document management systems are in

operation in any institutions of GoL. This is largely due to the absence of a legal environment for data

confidentiality and certification. Attempts at digitalizing large amount of paper documents would

involve importing hardware, in conjunction with corresponding technical know-how. While scanning

archives is extremely resource-intensive, scanning of paper records as they are generated, is

necessary to keep an accurate track of records. The wide availability of smartphone/tablets in Lao

PDR presents a viable opportunity. However, cost of data storage in Lao PDR would reveal a

considerable financial burden.

43. Digitization of paper based information: No OCR40 engine is available for Lao script and thus,

the only mean to digitize existing paper records is through human-power. Digital Divide Data is

present in Lao PDR41 and can offer such services at a relatively low cost.

3.4. Software and application development

3.4.1. Lao script and language

44. The use of Lao script has long presented difficulties for software developers. A variety of

standards was in use and some of the fonts widely utilized did not respect international norms. This

has now been resolved with the promulgation of decrees and notices by MOST that establishes

Phetsarath OT as the official font for Lao language to be utilized for all Government applications and

by telecommunication operators (websites, SMS, documents…). In addition, a website has been set-

up (www.phetsarath.gov.la) in December 2011, which provides the tools and standards necessary to

use Phetsarath OT on all platforms (decrees and notices are also given on the website).

45. Lao language is now recognized internationally and supported by an active, if small, national

software development community, with:

Lao added to Google Translation in September 2012 (Phetsarath OT adopted by Google).

Phetsarath OT fully supported by Microsoft software, although no Lao interface is available.

Translation of several open source projects (git-hub, the main archive for open source projects

has currently 281 projects involving Lao fonts, with 163 showing activity in the last year).


13

Hosting of several events related to open source software in Lao PDR42: Samsung App Academy,

Google Developer Group Dev Fest in 2013 and 2014 (www.gdgvientiane.org), Bar Camp since

2010…

3.4.2. Importance of Open Source

46. Lao software community is mostly centered on open source software with only large

companies (mostly mining and hydro-power) relying on proprietary software, which is too costly for

most small businesses.

47. For office productivity software, the majority of small and medium size entities use

unlicensed copies of Microsoft software. Although Lao PDR has developed a comprehensive

legislation on intellectual property (covering software copyrights)43, enforcement remains an issue

and the country has been granted an extension until 2021 for applying the WTO’s Agreement on

Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights44.

3.4.3. Human resources and capacity

48. The shift of Lao ICT industry towards service provision has been discussed in previous

sections. In 2014, there were 37 ICT companies in Laos (see Appendix 2). All sectors of IT service

industry are covered, but there are indications that the sector is still suffering from an acute lack of

skills with 8% of foreign ICT staff in ICT service-recipients45.

49. The shortage of skilled ICT labor force has recently been addressed with the set-up of an MSc

in ICT in the Faculty of Engineering of the National University of Lao PDR and of an ICT incubation hub

(Lao IT Business Incubation Center). The MSc is a very practical course that includes certifications

from international hardware and software companies (e.g. Cisco Systems, Inc).

50. Work in the past 10 years, interviews with local ICT companies, and a rapid survey of

software available in Lao script, indicate that there are more than sufficient skills available locally to

produce web-based database enabled software and applications, of the kind most commonly used

for CRVS. A listing of all technology mastered by local ICT firms would be fastidious. Below are a few

examples of locally developed software:

Web-based database-driven: numerous websites for both private companies and GoL are mostly

using open source technologies: MySQL, PHP, Java, and Linux. Interesting examples include:

LaoDecide Info (www.decide.la/en/) and LaoInfo (www.laoinfo.gov.la) that provide a wealth of

geo-referenced statistics; Lao44 (lao44.org), a comprehensive document repository in Lao

language; Lao EduInfo (www.devinfolive.info/dashboard/laoeduinfo/index.php) used to collect

data from districts on education using a software developed with Windev46.

Android: more than 250 applications are available on Google PlayStore. While most of them are

related to fonts or language (dictionaries), there are some innovative attempts, including: news

aggregators; statistics presentation (Lao EduInfo from the Ministry of Education and Sports -

MOES); mobile banking (Lao Development Bank, Banque pour le Commerce Extérieur du Laos);

crowd disasters reporting and warning (Mobile4D from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,


14

the NUOL, and the Capacity Lab of the University of Bremen); and telecommunication

companies applications.

iOS: more than 800 applications are available on the iTunes AppStore. The spread is similar to

the one found on Google Playstore, with more of a focus on marketing/advertising. The same

banking applications than on the Google PlayStore are also available.

51. While private companies offer sufficient services to cover any development needs for a DBR,

this is not the case for GoL, where only isolated ICT resources can be found (no strong team of

developers is present yet). Each Ministry has its own ICT resources and salaries offered are about a

third of the ones of the private sector47, which significantly hinders the hiring of effective staff. This

results in a high turnover of ICT staff and a correspondingly low retention rate.

3.5. Obtaining and operating hardware

52. Virtually any hardware can be obtained in Lao PDR, from top of the range servers to

inexpensive tablets48. In the context of CRVS and many development projects, a key issue is often

operation and maintenance of hardware. For instance, when most brands of printers are readily

available in Vientiane, genuine replacement toners or cartridges are not found easily in provinces.

There is a very large market for refilling of cartridges and/or toners that focuses mainly on Hewlett

Packard products. This ought to be kept in mind when selecting hardware.

53. All provincial towns have a reliable access to electricity, as most district capitals. Latest data

from the International Energy Agency49 give an electrification of 78% in 2011. Low birth registration is

prevalent in remote areas, where access to electricity is problematic. Solar panels can be used to

palliate this issue, but they prove a suboptimal solution in the North during the rainy season50, while

they perform well in the South. Local fuel generators and vehicles coupled with inverters are the

most common and reliable methods to operate ICT equipments in the field in Lao PDR.

4. The birth registration process

4.1. Universal Birth Registration

54. Birth registration is defined as “…the continuous, permanent and universal recording, within

the civil registry, of the occurrence and characteristics of births in accordance with the legal

requirements of a country.” by the UNICEF51.

55. In the last decade, birth registration has been the focus of tremendous international efforts

and there is a general consensus on characteristics of birth registration that ought to be exhibited in

a functioning CRVS. They are summarized in the UNICEF guide to birth registration programming52 as:

Birth registration must be:

• Within the civil registry – a birth can only be registered by this authority. Ideally this is a national

authority or, if not, there is a mechanism to ensure national coordination.

• Free – to ensure that no one is hindered from realizing this right, registration must be without

charge, whether for regular or late registration. It is recommended that the copy of the registration,


15

otherwise known as the birth certificate, should also be free of charge. It is recognized that there are

some costs that may be borne by the family such as travel expenses to the registrar, time away from

employment to register the child, etc.

• Continuous, permanent and available – the civil registration records must be kept forever. This also

requires that the records need to be retrievable, including in an office other than where the event was

registered. It also means that the registrar should be easily accessible anywhere in the country.

• Universal in coverage – all people who are born in the country must be able to be registered

without prejudice.

• Confidential – access to the information in the registry must be strictly controlled, noting in

particular that some information is highly sensitive and personal and could be misused.

• Timely and accurate – the information has implications for other obligations and rights for the

individual. Completing the registration as soon as possible increases the probability of a precise

recording of the event.

4.2. Birth Registration in Lao PDR: a brief review of issues

4.2.1. Status of birth registration in Lao PDR

56. The most up-to-date source of information about birth registration is the LSIS53 carried out in

2011-2012. The table below, adapted from the survey, gives a snapshot of the state of birth

registration in Lao PDR in 2012.

Table 5 - Status of children registration in Lao PDR (2012)

Children under age 5 whose birth is registered

with civil authorities Children under age 5 whose birth is not

registered

Has birth certificate

Has no birth certificate

Seen

(%)

Not seen (%)

No birth certificate

(%)

Total Registered

(%)

Nber of children

Children whose mother/caretaker knows how to register birth (%)

Nber of children without birth registration

Sex Male 16.7 16.4 41.2 74.3 5,593 40.5 1,437

Female 16.6 15.9 42.8 75.2 5,474 43.1 1,356

Region North 16.3 9.1 42.0 67.3 3,502 16.0 1,145 Central 15.9 24.1 39.0 79.0 5,154 55.6 1,082 South 18.6 9.4 48.5 76.5 2,411 67.6 566

Residence

Urban 28.5 30.3 29.0 87.8 2,319 53.5 283 Rural 13.5 12.4 45.4 71.3 8,748 40.5 2,510 ..Rural with road 14.5 13.0 45.2 72.8 7,661 40.0 2,087 ..Rural without road

6.4 8.0 46.8 61.1 1,086 42.6 423

Age

0-11 months 21.0 12.2 26.9 60.1 2,307 55.3 921 12-23 months 17.9 16.6 39.8 74.2 2,141 39.7 551 24-35 months 15.5 16.9 44.7 77.1 2,193 38.5 503 36-47 months 15.6 17.8 47.7 81.2 2,302 27.0 434 48-59 months 12.8 17.5 51.7 81.9 2,124 33.4 384

TOTAL 16.6 16.1 42.0 74.8 11,067 41.8 2,793

Source: Lao Statistics Bureau, 2012. Lao Social Indicator Survey (LSIS) 2011 – 12. Vientiane: Lao

Statistics Bureau.


16

57. The data presented highlights a key feature of birth registration in Lao PDR: there is a

significant level of confusion54 amongst the population about the correct documents to be

obtained/processes to be followed to register a birth. Indeed, while 74.3% of the population

considers their children are registered, only 33.1% claims that they have a birth certificate (with

16.7% able to show it). Interviews with officials from MOHA led to understand that for many families,

registration of a child in the Family Book - maintained with efficiency by the Ministry of Public

Security (MPS) from village to national level - is considered a fully fledged registration. More details

can be obtained in a report commissioned by Plan International Lao PDR in 201255, which also

provides a detailed process map of birth registration.

4.2.2. Legal Environment

58. Legislation clearly designates MOHA as the Ministry responsible for CRVS in Lao PDR. It is also

the coordinating body for the Steering Committee on Civil Registration56. Lao PDR is signatory to all

international agreements that include provisions for birth and civil registration, including:

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 7).

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 15).

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (article 24).

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of

their Families (article 29).

Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages.

59. Additionally, GoL has recently participated in the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration

and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific in November 2014 and ratified the Ministerial Declaration

to “Get every one in the picture” in Asia and the Pacific57.

Extract of the Ministerial Declaration to “Get every one in the picture” in Asia and the Pacific We… 1. Proclaim our shared vision that, by 2024, all people in Asia and the Pacific will benefit from universal and responsive civil registration and vital statistics systems that facilitate the realization of their rights and support good governance, health and development; 2. Affirm that that the realization of our shared vision depends on achieving the following goals: (a) Goal 1: Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events; (b) Goal 2: All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, death and other vital events, as necessary, in order to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights; (c) Goal 3: Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death), based on registration records, are produced and disseminated; 3. Declare the years 2015 to 2024 to be the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Decade for Asia and the Pacific to achieve our shared vision; 4. Endorse the Regional Action Framework on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific, so as to accelerate and focus the efforts of Governments and development partners and, thereby, to achieve our shared vision;


17

60. In Lao PDR, birth registration is currently guided by 3 different Laws: the Family Law58, the

Family Registration Law59, and the Statistics Law60. MOHA is in the process of combining these 3 laws

into an overall one61.

61. Birth registration is based on an obsolete legal framework that does not take into account

the latest international and national evolutions (MOHA was created in 2011). Without an updated

legal framework, implementation decrees and ministerial instructions remain outdated and do not

include provision for a modern CRVS (for example, directive No 06 from MOHA – the only available

guidance for birth registration from MOHA - insists that registration can only take place in DOHA).

4.2.3. Key issues for CRVS

62. Review of several assessments62 and Interviews at Central level with MOHA staff, WHO, WB,

UNICEF and Plan International points to a CRVS structure that is not yet mature.

4.2.3.1. MOHA preparedness

63. MOHA was established in 2011 and, as a new ministry, it is still developing its line agencies at

provincial and district levels.

District Offices of the Ministry of Home Affairs (DOHA) are being set-up, but are not yet fully

operational (1 to 3 staff available, who have received basic training on CRVS under the Civil

Registration and Statistics Development Project).

Roles of Provincial Offices of the Ministry of Home Affairs (POHA) and DOHA have not yet been

clarified, except regarding reporting requirements set in directive No 06 from MOHA, which

states that villages have to report to DOHA 4 times a year, DOHA to POHA twice a year, and

POHA to MOHA once a year.

Funds are insufficient for providing necessary paperwork at district level, much less for any

investment in ICT.

Most of DOHA staff has not received any training on ICT and availability of internet access and

computers at DOHA is low63 (to the exception of DOHA close to populous urban centers).

No database is available in MOHA and, for the time being, everything is based on paper forms.

Enforcement of central decisions is difficult (including legally binding ones64) because of a

governmental structure that, despite improvements in recent years, still gives extensive powers

to provincial and district governors (including control of financial flows and revocation of Village

Chiefs65).

4.2.3.2. Process and supporting documents

Forms are not standardized.

ICD-10 is just being explored by MoH and verbal autopsy, an often adopted solution when

resources are scare, is not in place so far.

Role of MoH in recording cause of death is not clarified and supported by clear instructions.

Legislation is being drafted and this leads to procedures for registration of vital events exhibiting

a high degree of geographical heterogeneity.


18

There seems to be little understanding of the notion of birth record, a record which can contain

more information than a birth certificate, and should only be stored by the equivalent of a Civil

Registrar. This is evidenced by the fact that the form used to request of a birth certificate and a

birth certificate contain the same information (see Appendix 2), and no additional

documentation is required when applying for a birth certificate. In addition, not reference to

birth record could be found in any of the laws or instructions governing birth registration.

There is no incentive for formally registering children as the family book is widely accepted in

Lao PDR, in place of a birth certificate.

Infants who die within a few days of birth or stillborns are seldom recorded, as this is often

considered an unnecessary administrative burden.

Confusion is still prevalent in rural Lao about the difference between recording a child in the

Family Book and formally registering her/his birth.

Registering the birth of a child with DOHA involves a minimum of 2 trips to the district capital

(often 3) and the payment of informal fees to support the provision of documents that State’s

budget cannot cover. In addition to direct costs, families have to bear many indirect costs: lost

opportunities for gainful employment or for engagement in self-employment; travel costs….

4.2.3.3. Inter-ministerial collaboration

Collaboration between ministries is a stated intention of the Steering Committee on Civil

Registration, but official modus operandum have yet to be formalized in details.

MoH is developing an eHealth strategy that includes a focus on CRVS. However, it is not clear

how it can be articulated within the existing legal framework.

There are competing institutional missions regarding CRVS. While legislation clearly mandates

MOHA with responsibility for CRVS, MPS is still maintaining the Family Book at village level.

From the own admission of MOHA staff, obtaining this data will be difficult in the near future.

Collaboration with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is not yet formalized and it is unclear how

divorces, separations and adoptions have to be handled.

A notification of birth issued in a health facility is not sufficient as a formal proof of birth for

requesting a birth certificate. The signature of a Village Chief, along with that of witnesses, is still

required on a request for birth certificate. Attempts at using common procedures between

MOHA and MoH have so far been unsuccessful due to disagreement on information that ought

to be present on a common form for birth notification and request for birth certificate.

5. Scenario for ICT as an enabler for Digital Birth Registration

64. There are two key principles that are considered to be key focus areas for a DBR strategy:

Ensuring a child is registered as accurately as possible in a timely manner after birth (birth

record) at the cheapest possible cost to her/his parents66 (including indirect costs).

Ensuring that a birth certificate is issued with the lowest direct and indirect costs for families.


19

5.1. Key stakeholders

5.1.1. Ministry of Health – DHIS2

65. In addition to a vast network of rural Health Centers (more than 988 according to latest data

from District Health Information System 2 – DHIS2), MoH is organizing a network of Community

Health Workers for the most remote parts of Lao PDR, whose mandate is to visit villages on a regular

basis. Village Health Volunteers are present in some villages and have received basic training.

Moreover, through a combined effort between Plan International Lao PDR, UNICEF, UNFPA and the

MoH, midwives are now being trained and dispatched to remote districts.

66. Health facilities other than Health Centers include: district hospitals, provincial hospitals,

regional hospitals, and a wealth of private clinics, doctors and pharmacies67. Most remote villages do

still have a traditional birth attendant, especially amongst ethnic groups, for whom cultural practices

may make birth in a health facility inappropriate68.

67. In recent years, MoH has benefitted for intensive technical and financial assistance to

produce reliable health statistics. This has resulted in the implementation of the DHIS269 system that

connects many of the districts of Lao PDR to a centralized system for reporting district-aggregated

health data (including births, vaccinations, deaths, infectious diseases, amongst others), using 3G

connectivity. Community workers who travel to villages, but are based in a Health Center, also report

data using DHIS2. These are processed at district level on a monthly basis. DHIS2 also offers a module

for CRVS, but this is currently not in use in Lao PDR. The implementation of DHIS2 has not neglected

training and the system is used on a regular basis70. Moreover, the extension of its geographical and

functional scopes will be supported by WHO and a consortium of other donors for the foreseeable

future.

68. Data collected through DHIS2 indicates that the time when the most children come in

contact with the health service is when they are 1.5 months old, rather than during pre- or post-natal

visits and vaccinations.

5.1.2. Ministry of Education and Sports

69. The school enrollment rate in Lao PDR was 93.9% in 2013 for primary education, according to

MOES71. MOES has implemented a system that connects districts to central level through the use of a

software developed using WinDev. Aggregated data are reported on a yearly basis and can be

consulted at central level, including through a web application (www.devinfolive.info/

dashboard/laoeduinfo/index.php).

70. At the time of writing, possession of a birth certificate is not a mandatory requirement for

entering pre-primary and primary education. For the 2014-2015 school year, MOES will be asking

parents to provide a birth certificate for enrolment. Thus, collecting information on whether a child

has a birth certificate or not will not be difficult, according to officials from MOES72.


20

5.1.3. Ministry of Public Investment / Lao Statistics Bureau

71. The Lao Statistics Bureau (LSB) from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is

responsible for the population census every 10 years. In addition, it conducts other regular surveys as

tasked by GoL. Its role as the key institution for collecting, organizing and diffusing statistics is clearly

established by the Law on Statistics73.

5.2. Key constraints

72. In addition to technological and legal constraints already presented in previous sections, the

following needs to be taken into account:

A birth notification, to be valid, cannot be electronic alone, as it needs to be signed and stamped.

While face recognition technology is available cheaply, its implementation would require a full

overhaul of legal requirements and is unlikely to be accepted by MOHA and MPS (for inclusion in

Family Book).

The Family Book will continue being used in Lao PDR for (1) customary reasons; and (2) for

ensuring national security.

A request for birth certificate needs to be signed by several witnesses, by a person mandated by

the GoL (Village Chief), and by a representant of MOHA at the district level. Discussions with

MOHA lead to understand that delegation of signature to other ministries would be difficult.

Birth certificate has to be on a paper support with a signature from MOHA (and Village Chief).

Volumes of birth are too low in Health Centers to justify the presence of a DOHA staff (may only

be applicable in main hospitals).

Parents have to be present when the birth certificate request is given to DOHA.

MOHA has indicated that registration in the Family Book may become contingent to presentation

of a birth certificate. There are doubts as the implementation of this measure as the Family Book

is the most common form of identification for Lao in remote villages (until the age of 15, this is

the only proof of identify for children before they get a national identity card, should they not

have a birth certificate).

5.3. Options for Birth Registration

73. Solutions involving the access of each Village Chief to a digital device with internet access

(tablets, smartphones or even inexpensive Java-enabled phones) have not been considered as there

are more than 10,000 villages in Lao PDR, computer literacy is very low, and this would represent an

investment that could not be sustained by the Government (even if capital investment was provided

by ODA, insufficient funds would be available for operation and maintenance after end of funding).

74. There are 2 clear cases to be considered for increasing birth registration in Lao PDR: (1) mass

registration of children attending or about to attend school, and (2) continuous registration of

newborns.

75. The options presented below are not mutually exclusive and a final solution for is likely to

involve a mix thereof. Each option is presented in its broad lines with connectivity needs, hardware

needs, estimation of costs (for comparison purpose only, at this stage a precise estimation is neither

warranted nor possible), pre-requisites in term of legislation change and institutional cooperation,


21

quality of service to population (time and cost to obtain a birth certificate74). Costs of developing a

central CRVS database hosted on a server in the e-Government data center apply to all options and

therefore are not presented, as well as expenses for 3G connectivity to DOHA offices and for

equipping each DOHA with a laser printer and a laptop (recommended equipment). It is also

assumed that Village Chiefs, health personnel, teachers, DoH, DOES and DOHA staff all possess at

least basic mobile phones operating on the national GSM network.

5.3.1. Mass registration of children attending schools without a birth

certificate

Outline:

1. Teachers (there is a primary school within 7 km of every village, with 8,913 schools and a net intake ratio of 93.9% in 201275) request birth certificate from every child attending or registering to a school during the routine yearly collection of statistics. This is not mandatory, but for information only.

2. Information is transmitted to District Office of the Ministry of Education and Sports (DOES) through normal reporting channel. This is shared with DOHA, POHA and MOHA.

3. DOHA, under the control of POHA, organizes “birth registration days” – when sufficient volumes are reached - at schools, to which parents and Village Chiefs are invited.

4. Paperwork would remain the same, but birth certificate could be obtained on the same day (if DOHA ensures the availability of sufficient birth certificates and birth certificate request forms).

Legal issues: no changes.

Cost implication:

Basic training of DOES and DOHA on collaboration and understanding of birth registration. Basic

cost-benefit training for DOHA to assess when registration ought to take place in a school (cost of

travel versus number of children to register).

Basic training of teachers: difference between birth notification, birth certificate, and Family

Book.

GSM credits for DOHA.

Travel of DOHA to field and accommodation.

Printing of birth certificate and of birth certificate request forms in DOHA.

Extra DOHA personnel necessary at onset (approximately 4 years).

Impact for population:

Positive: Travel to a school nearby lower the cost. Negative: Delays depending on DOHA resources.


22

5.3.2. Continuous registration of all children

5.3.2.1. Option 1: Village Chief is the key informant

Outline:

1. Village Chief informs DOHA by phone for each new birth and prepares a birth notification if needed (if not provided by DoH) and a birth certificate request form (forms collected during previous visit to DOHA based on projections).

2. DOHA inputs a non-validated birth record based on information received.

3. When Village Chief reports to DOHA (every 3 months), birth records are certified and birth certificates are issued and given to Village Chief to bring to parents. If a birth certificate can only be handled by parents, they are notified by Village Chief of the need to travel to DOHA.

Legal issues: slight changes: Village Chiefs are given the right to handle birth certificates; presence of

parents is not necessary when submitting a request for birth certificate.

Cost implication:

Basic training of Village Chiefs on what information needs to be transmitted to DOHA; and on

importance of birth certificates and legal implication of mishandling.

Printing of forms for birth certificate requests and birth certificates at DOHA.


Positive: No travel or just one trip to district necessary. Negative: Delay of up to 3 months in obtaining birth certificate (except if Village Chief goes to DOHA

during visits to the district capital for other duties).

5.3.2.2. Option 2: Delegation of registration power to Village Chiefs

Outline:

1. Village Chief issues birth certificates based on birth notifications and information at village level (form for birth certificate request may disappear as it contains the same information than the birth certificate, see Appendix 3 for examples)

2. Village Chief informs DOHA by phone for each birth certificate issued.

3. DOHA inputs a non-validated birth record based on information received.

4. When Village Chief reports to DOHA (every 3 months or during visit to district capital), birth records are certified and blank birth certificates collected.

Legal issues: very important changes: Delegation of registrar authority to Village Chiefs.

Cost implication:

Basic training of Village Chiefs on: issuance of birth certificates, information that needs to be

reported by phone to DOHA, safe storing of paper forms, importance of birth certificates and legal

implication of mishandling.

GSM credits for Village Chiefs.

Printing of birth certificates in DOHA.

Travel of Village Chiefs to DOHA offices for reporting (should already be covered and can be

undertaken while performing other duties in the district capital).


23


Positive: No travel necessary; No delay in obtaining birth certificate. Negative: Potential for Village Chiefs to use birth certificate issuance in a discriminatory manner.

5.3.2.3. Option 3: Personnel from Ministry of Health is granted authority

to certify birth certificate request forms

Outline:

1. Health personnel issue birth notification for children born in health facilities (already the case), but also for children born in villages (health community workers and/or midwives). Birth notifications contain at minimum the same information than requests for birth certificate (may keep 2 forms or merge them). Birth certificate request form are issued at the same time (if still necessary) than birth notifications and certified by health personnel (if forms are needed, it can be obtained from DOHA and brought to Health Center by DoH on a monthly basis).

2. Each Health Center is equipped with a tablet with 3G connectivity that is used to transmit a copy of the birth notifications/requests for birth certificate to DOHA.

3. DOHA issues birth certificates that are brought back to parents by either Village Chiefs or health personnel. If this is not possible, Village Chiefs are notified by phone that birth certificates are ready and in turn notify parents that they can go and obtain a birth certificate from DOHA.

4. Validation of birth records, if still necessary, can be based on paper records brought back from Health Centers by DoH (visits each Health Center once a month).

ICT needs: tablets with camera and 3G connectivity for each Health Center (electricity is not an issue

as power requirements are low and complete absence of charging facilities is an exception rather

than the rule), simple wooden frames to position tablets appropriately for taking copies of

documents in Health Centers.

Legal issues: major changes: Remove the need for parents to be present during the request of a birth

certificate at DOHA, acceptation by DOHA that MoH personnel/Village Chiefs can handle birth

certificate, acceptation of DoH personnel as valid informants (in addition to Village Chiefs),

acceptation of digital copies of notifications of birth/requests for birth certificate.

Cost implication:

Basic training of DoH on: issuance of birth notifications and birth certificate requests, scanning of

documents with tablet, sending documents by email, handling birth certificates, recording still-

born and infant death (Village Chiefs training may be necessary for this case).

Training of DOHA in reading documents sent by email.

Internet costs for Health Centers.

Printing of birth certificates and of birth certificate request forms in DOHA.


Positive: No travel or just one trip necessary. Negative: A delay of a maximum of 2 months to obtain a birth certificate.

Additional comments: equipping Health Centers with tablets and 3G connectivity would have the

added benefit to reinforce efforts from MoH in implementing DHIS2 and an agreement may be found

between MOHA and MOES on sharing costs for connectivity.


24

5.3.2.4. Option 4: DOHA operates mobile registration based on

information from Health Centers

Outline:

1. Data from Health Centers are collected at district level (currently the case on a monthly basis), and the number of births is transmitted to DOHA.

2. DOHA, under the control of POHA, organizes birth registration days – when sufficient volumes are reached - at Health Centers (can cover several Health Centers), to which parents and Village Chiefs are invited.

3. Paperwork remains the same, but birth certificates are obtained in one day (DOHA brings sufficient birth certificates and birth certificate request forms).

Legal issues: slight changes: MOU between MoH and MOHA

Cost implication:

Basic training of DoH and DOHA on collaboration and understanding of birth registration

(including stillborn and infant death), basic cost-benefit training for DOHA to assess when

registration ought to take place in a Health Center (cost of travel versus number of children to

register).

Travel of DOHA to field and accommodation.

Printing of birth certificates and of birth certificate request forms in DOHA.

GSM credits for DOHA.


Positive: Just one trip to a nearby meeting point is necessary (Health Center). Negative: A delay of a maximum of 2 months to obtain birth certificate, depending on visit by health

professional.

5.3.2.5. Summary of options for continuous birth registration

76. Printing, connectivity and hardware for DOHA are ignored. Values given are comparative, not

absolute.


25

Table 6 - Comparative assessment of options for continuous birth registration

Option Training cost

Hard-ware cost

Connectivity Cost

Legislation /cooperation

changes

Cost for population

Delay in obtaining birth

certificate

Compliance with best practices

Option 1 Village Chief as key informant

Very High None Low Very low Low High Very low

Option 2 Village Chief as registrar

Very High None Low Very high Very low None Low

Option 3: health certifies birth requests

High High High High Low Medium High

Option 4: Mobile DOHA in Health Center

Medium None Low Low Low Low Very High

Note: compliance with best practices for CRVS has been assessed through exchanges with Plan

International Lao PDR CRVS Advisor. Option 1 was deemed to be of very low compliance because it

implies that the request for a child’s birth certificate can be submitted to DOHA without the presence

of her/his legal guardians. Option 2 was rated low as the CRVS Advisor expressed caution about

delegating too much power to village authorities and the potential conflicts of interest it may create.

5.4. Other elements of a birth registration solution

77. Birth Registration is a very complex undertaking, for which additional investigations ought to

take into account:

Awareness raising for population: campaign using mobile phone recharge cards as support (Lao

telecommunication operators confirmed this is a possibility); information through some of Lao

mass organizations (Lao Front for National Construction, Lao Youth Organization, and Lao

Women’s Union) and local government structure; inclusion of birth registration in school

curriculum; and training of teachers and health workers.

Incentives for population: food for birth registration through collaboration with WFP (not

sustainable without further support), free family photography when registering a child (successful

in Nicaragua76), use of birth certificates to gain access to services (caution is to be exercised not to

exclude the most vulnerable).

5.5. Phases of a possible DBR solution

78. At the time of writing, the draft of the CRVS strategy 2015-2024 for Lao PDR was not

available, and thus it is arduous to estimate preparation times for MOHA before selecting any of the

options above.


26

Phase 1: preparation – 2 years

MOHA finalizes strategy on CRVS.

Options (or mix thereof) are selected and legislation changes/MOU officially enacted.

Development of central database

Equipment of DOHA with laptops, laser printers, and 3G connectivity

Training of DOHA in operating software and hardware. This includes set-up of data sharing

mechanisms between MOHA and LSB.

Fundraising from international partners takes place.

Start of awareness raising.

Phase 2: Mass registration and action research on options for continuous registration – 4 years

Selection of implementation areas: at least 3 different districts in the ones targeted by the “Sam

Sang” or “three built” policy77, with low birth registration and different geographies.

Purchase of equipment necessary.

Additional Training

Awareness raising

Implementation in the selected areas undertaken within an action research framework, rather

than viewed as piloting. The goal is to have working models adapted to different geographic and

socio-economic conditions, not only to gather learning. Both mass registration and continuous

registration have to be implemented, together with other relevant CRVS elements.

Phase 3: 4 years

Mass and continuous registrations are rolled out nationally.

6. Conclusion

79. Any attempt at implementing DBR ought to be preceded by intensive efforts to ensure that

relevant laws, MOU and working processes are in place. Only then will Lao PDR be able to leverage

the power of new technologies to rapidly and efficiently provide birth certificates to a majority of

children.

80. This study demonstrates that there is a sufficient level of technical expertise for developing

an endogenous DBR solution in Lao PDR. It also provides practical options, for practitioners in this

area, to explore the structure of a DRB system and to test its implementation.

81. Before embarking on DBR, further investigations are deemed necessary on:

Flexibility available for legislation changes and cooperation between ministries.

Use of a national identification number in Lao PDR (not the case at the time of writing) and how

this would affect CRVS.

Communications between different software used by ministries by mean of a national data

clearing house or through the use of nationally agreed communication protocols for data

exchange.

Detailed roles and responsibilities of MOHA and of its line agencies (POHA and DOHA) with

precise definition of standard operating procedures and communication channels.


27

82. The 8th NSEDP for 2016-2020 is currently being drafted and this represents an opportunity

for MOHA to enshrine CRVS into the national agenda for the next 5 years. Should it be seized upon,

this ought to be the basis for involving development partners in a CRVS solution and for ensuring that

sufficient financial and technical supports are available.


28

Endnotes

1 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICF), 2013. A Passport to Protection: A guide to birth registration programming. New York : UNICEF.

2 Prime Minister’s Office of GoL, 2011. Decree on Organization and Operations of Ministry of Home Affairs No 253/PM dated 19 August 2011. Vientiane: GoL.

3 GoL, 2011.The Seventh Five-Year National Socio- Economic Development Plan (2011-2015)- Full Version. Vientiane: GoL.

4 This is exemplified by the participation of Lao PDR to the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific, 24-28 November, Bangkok, Thailand, organized by UNESCAP and the signing of the resulting Ministerial Declaration to “Get every one in the picture” in Asia and the Pacific.

5 National Economic Research Institute (NERI) of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, 2014. Macroeconomy in 2013 and The Outlook in 2014. Vientiane : NERI.

6 Ministry of Health and Lao Statistics Bureau, 2012. Lao Social Indicator Survey 2011-2012. Vientiane : Lao Statistics Bureau.

7 World Economic Forum and INSEAD, 2014. The Global Information Technology Report 2014 - Rewards and Risks of Big Data. Geneva: World Economic Forum.

8 United Nations, 2014. E-Government Survey 2014 – E-Government for the future we want. Geneva: United Nations.

9 United Nations, 2012. E-Government Survey 2012 – E-Government for the people. Geneva: United Nations

10 Lao ICT Association, 2012. Lao ICT Service Market 2012. Vientiane: JICA.

11 In addition to trade tariffs and regulations, informal fees levied by custom officers are not uncommon.

12 Asian Development Bank (ADB), 2014. Innovative Asia: Advancing the knowledge-based economy – The next policy agenda. Manila: ADB.

13 Lao ICT Association, op. cit.

14 See Free Trade Agreement of Lao PDR on the Lao Trade Portal that sets tariffs for ICT hardware under the ASEAN trade in Goods Agreements to 0% by 2015. Available at (http://www.laotradeportal.gov.la/kcfinder/upload/files/Annex2_%28Tariff_Schedules%29-Lao_PDR_%28AHTN-2012%29.pdf [Accessed 08/02/2015]

15 Vientiane Times, 2012. Lao Telecom Firms’ Price-Fixing To Secure Profits In 2012. Vientiane Times, 05 February 2012. Available at http://jclao.com/telecom-firms-agree-to-price-fixing-to-secure-profits-in-2012/ [accessed 20/01/2015]

16 National Assembly of Lao PDR, 2011. Law on Telecommunication (Amended) No 09/NA dated 21 December 2011. Vientiane: GoL.

17 Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Decision of competition on telecommunication No 019/MPT dated 08 January 2015. Vientiane: MPT.

18 Phothirath, S., MPT, 2014. Presentation on Lao PDR Telecommunication Sector Development. In UNESCAP: Expert Consultation on the Asia‐Pacific Information Superhighway and Regional Connectivity, 1‐2 October 2014, Thimphu, Bhutan.

19 Xilyvong, P., LANIC, 2013. Presentation on Country Report “Internet Access”. In 2013 Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF): Current Lao ICT, 4-6 September 2013, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

20 Phothirath, 2014, op. cit.

21 The World Bank and the International Telecommunication Union, 2014. The Little Data Book on Information and Communication Technology 2014. Washington, D.C.: the World Bank.


29

22 Phothirath, 2014, op. cit.

23 Phothirath, S., LANIC, MPT, 2010. Presentation on Lao National Internet Center. In ITU: ITU Subregional Workshop for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam, 14-17 December 2010, Nha Trang, Vietnam. Available at http://fr.slideshare.net/laonog/lao-national-internet-center [accessed 15/01/2015].

24 Meeting with Mr. Vasira, Director, MPT Datacenter division, e-Governement Department, MPT on the 27/01/2015; and Mr. Minaxay, Director, Network Division, LANIC, MPT on the 26/01/2015.

25 Different approaches were reviewed in the following references: Plan International, 2014: What if… every child was in the picture – Civil Registration and Vital Statistics: the case for investment. Woking (UK): Plan International; World Health Organization (WHO), 2013. Move it: Report on Monitoring of Vital Events. Geneva: WHO; The World Bank (WB) & WHO, 2014. Global Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Scaling up Investment Plan 2015–2024. Washington D.C.: WB.

26 GoL, 2012. Decree on the Implementation of the Law on Standardization No 234/GoL dated 06 June 2012. Vientiane: GoL.

27 Lao National Assembly, 2012. Law on Electronic Transaction No 20/NA dated 07/12/2012. Vientiane: GoL.

28 The World Bank and the International Telecommunication Union, op. cit.

29 Vientiane Times, 2009. Lao PDR's Tourism Authority sets up a Child Protection Hotline. Vientiane Times, 07 December 2009. Available at http://www.unodc.org/laopdr/en/stories/192-hotline-launch.html [accessed 20/01/2015]

30 See http://instedd.org/technologies/verboice/.

31 ADB, 2009. TA-4005 (LAO): Agribusiness Support and Training – Mission Report by Ludovic Pommier. Manila : ADB.

32 USSD stands for Unstructured Supplementary Service Gateway and is a way for interactive with users on basic mobile phone using instant messaging.

33 National Assembly of Lao PDR. Law on Telecommunication (Amended) No 09/NA dated 21 December 2011. Vientiane: GoL; and Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Decision of competition on telecommunication No 019/MPT dated 08 January 2015. Vientiane: MPT.

34 Discussion with Mr. Minaxay, Director, Network Division, LANIC, MPT on the 26/01/2015.

35 Ministry of Post and Telecommunication. Degree to establish Lao Computer Emergency Response Team (LaoCERT) No MPT/220 dated 9 February 2012. Vientiane : GoL.

36 Sounnalat, K., Deputy Head of LaoCERT, MPT, 2013. Presentation on Country update on Cyber Security (Lao PDR). In ITU: ITU Cyber security Forum and Cyber Drill, 9-11 December 2013 ,Vientiane, Lao PDR. WWW.

37 GoL, 2014. Decree on Information Management on the Internet No: 327 /GoL dated 16/09/2014.Vientiane, GoL.

38 National Assembly of Lao PDR, op. cit.

39 A Certification Authority is an entity that is recognized by the state and given the right to issue Certificate of Authority used to certify digital signature with a pair of digital codes (keys).

40 Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a technology that processed a paper-based document into a digital document that is fully text searchable (e.g. under Microsoft Word or .pdf format).

41 http://www.digitaldividedata.com [29/01/2015]

42 The events listed are related to the open source software community. In Lao, many of its most active members are staff of Lao IT Development (www.laoitdev.com/).

43 The last version version of the Law on Intellectual Property has been promulgated in 2012: Presidents Office of Lao PDR, 2012. Decree of the President of Lao PDR on the Promulgation of the Amended Law on Intellectual Property No 054/PO, dated 16 January 2012. Vientiane : GoL.


30

44 http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/ldc_e.htm [31/01/2015]

45 Lao ICT Association, op. cit.

46 A proprietary software development environment.

47 Maximum of 200 USD per month in GoL versus an average of 600 USD per month in the private sector.

48 For example of hardware obtainable in Vientiane, one can consult www.datacomlao.com or jirocomputer.com.

49 International Energy Agency (IEA), 2013. Southeast Asia Energy Outlook – World Energy Outlook Special Report September 2013. Paris: IEA.

50 Interview with Mr. Saykham Keorasvong, Internet network division deputy director, Star Telecom Lao PDR on the 28/01/2015.

51 UNICEF, 2013. Every Child’s Birth Right: Inequities and trends in birth registration. New York: UNICEF

52 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2013. A Passport to Protection: A guide to birth registration programming. New York : UNICEF.

53 Lao Statistics Bureau, 2012. Lao Social Indicator Survey (LSIS) 2011 – 12. Vientiane: LSB.

54 The proportion of caretakers who know how to register birth is higher than the proportion of children with a birth certificate, which does indicate that confusion about birth registration is not the sole obstacle. This will be discussed later.

55 Plan International Lao PDR, 2012. A situation assessment of civil registration system in Lao PDR. Vientiane: Plan International Lao PDR.

56 Lead by the Ministry of Home Affairs and composed of Lao Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Public Safety, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Public Health, National Commission for mothers and Children and Ministry of Education as well as representatives from UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, IOM and Plan International.

57 Lao PDR is a member of UNESCAP and signed the declaration at the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific, held in Bangkok, from 24 to 28 November 2014.

58 People’s Supreme Assembly of Lao PDR, 1990. Family Law No 07/90/SPA dated 29 November 1990. Vientiane: GoL.

59 People’s Supreme Assembly of Lao PDR, 1991. Family Registration Law 03/SPA dated 30 December. Vientiane: GoL.

60 National Assembly of Lao PDR, 2010. Statistics Law No 03/NA dated 30 June 2010. Vientiane : GoL.

61 Unfortunately, no copy of the new draft law could be obtained at the time of writing.

62 Plan International Lao PDR, 2012. A Situation assessment of Civil Registration system in Lao PDR. Vientiane, Plan International Lao PDR.; Presentation by Lao participants to the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific, 24-28 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand.

63 Interview with Mr. khansith Luangxay, Deputy Director, ICT Division, Citizen Management Department, MOHA on the 12/01/2015.

64 Pommier, L., 2009. Management of investments in natural resources in the provinces and operational linkages between the Poverty Environment Initiative (UNDP/MPI) and the Sustainable Natural Resource Management and Productivity Enhancement Project (IFAD/ADB). Vientiane: Ministry of Investment and Planning of Lao PDR and UNDP; Fujita, Y. and Phengsopha, K., 2008. The gap between policy and practice in Lao PDR. Lessons from forest decentralization: money, justice and the quest for good governance in Asia-Pacific. Earthscan/CIFOR, London, 117-131.

65 National Assembly of Lao PDR, 2003. Law on local administration of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic No 47/NA dated 21 October 2003. Vientiane : GoL.


31

66 Including legal guardian or the state for orphans, see Law on Family, (People’s Supreme Assembly of Lao PDR, 1990, op. cit.) and National Assembly of Lao PDR, 2004. Law on Lao Nationality No 05/NA dated 17 May 2004. Vientiane: GoL.

67 Detailed information can be found in WHO and Ministry of Health of Lao PDR, 2012. Health Service Delivery Profile, Lao PDR. Vientiane : WHO Lao PDR.

68 For example, amongst the Kry people, a woman can only give birth in a purpose-built hut with the sole assistance of other women. She is not allowed to leave this hut before being able to walk out carrying her baby. Lamxay et al, 2011. Traditions and plant use during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum recovery by the Kry ethnic group in Lao PDR. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 7(14).

69 District Health Information System 2 is an open source package that WHO is rolling out worldwide. More information available on www.dhis2.org [25/01/2015]

70 Interview with Dr Luexay Phadouangdeth, Deputy Director General, Department of International Cooperation, MoH on the 23/01/2015.

71 Lao EduInfo website accessed at www.devinfolive.info/dashboard/laoeduinfo/index.php [25/01/2015]

72 Interview with Dr Luexay Phadouangdeth, Director General, Department of Pre-School and Primary Education, MOES on the 23/01/2015.

73 National Assembly of Lao PDR, 2010. Statistics Law No 03/NA dated 30 June 2010. Vientiane : GoL.

74 Cost in this case is understood to be directly linked to travel necessary. While informal fees are sometimes charges to obtain paperwork or for administrative procedure, Law on Fee and cost of services provides for a free access to birth registration. This may be difficult to sustain with GoL funding, but in this case a fee ought to be defined by law and strictly enforced throughout the country.

75 Lao EduInfo website, op. cit.

76 UNICEF Stories of Innovation, 2013. Prototyping birth registration services in Nicaragua. UNICEF Stories of Innovation, 04 November 2013. Available at http://unicefstories.org/2013/11/04/prototyping-birth-registration-services-in-nicaragua/ [accessed 20/01/2015]

77 Vientiane Times, 2013. Sam Sang directive to be deeply implemented: Minister. Vientiane Times, 28 March 2013. Available at http://vientianetimes.org.la/Video_FileVDO/Mar13_Sam_sang.htm [accessed 22/01/2015].


32

Appendix 1. Context for the mission

The Writer was hired for 20 working days by Plan International Lao PDR to perform an Information

and Communication Technology (ICT) landscape survey from the 5th to the 31st of January 2015. This

assessment took place within the context of the Civil Registration and Statistics Development Project

- funded by UNICEF Lao PDR and jointly implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) of the

Government of Lao PDR (GoL), Department of Citizens Management and Plan International Lao PDR –

for the period 12th August 2014 to 28th February 20151.

After revision, the TOR for the study became:

1) Identification of gaps, challenges and obstacles to reliable birth registration (drawing on the comprehensive assessment report undertaken in 2012 and interviews with secondary informants);

2) Identification of potential partners for MOHA (and their role) in a DBR solution for Lao PDR; 3) Outline of the contour of a potential DBR solution for Lao PDR, including: institutional and

legal arrangements; capacity building; awareness and communication; processes (based on a limited process map of current birth registration practices); and a range of technical options.

4) Cost/benefit analysis for different options for DBR (cost/registration). This costing is to be realized at current prices and estimation of future reduction in cost due to technological evolution may be given;

5) Proposition for a phased approach to the introduction of a DBR in Lao PDR with key milestones for the period 2015-2024;

6) Recommendation of how a DBR solution may interact with other elements of a comprehensive CRVS strategy, including life-events other than birth and vital statistics;

7) Should time permit, presentation of the proposed outline for a DBR during a workshop with MOHA.

1 Citizens Management Bureau (CMB) of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), 2014. Memorandum of Understanding between MOHA represented by CMB and Plan International Lao PDR concerning Civil Registration and Statistics Development Project for the period of 12 August 2014 to 28 February 2015 – Funded by UNICEF and Plan International. Vientiane : GoL.


33

Appendix 2. ICT companies in Lao PDR

IT Service Provider Responding Company

IT C

on

sult

ing

IT E

du

cati

on

Syst

em

s In

tegr

ati

on

Soft

wa

re

Ap

plic

ati

on

Dat

a C

en

tre

Se

rvic

e

IT S

yste

m

Mai

nte

nan

ce

Har

dw

are

Sal

es

and

Se

rvic

e

We

bsi

te a

nd

C

on

ten

t D

ev.

IT S

ecu

rity

Oth

ers

A.E.K IT Computer √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Advanced IT Solutions Asia √ √ √

Alice Computer √ √ √ √

APIS √ √ √ √ √

ATT Computer √ √ √ √ √

BECS √ √

BK Computer √

BP Computer √ √ √ √ √

BT Computer √ √ √ √ √

Cyberia √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Datacom √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Digital Divide Data √

IBI Co Ltd √ √ √ √ √ √

ICT Solution Lao √ √ √ √

INFOTECH Co Ltd √ √

Jitta Computer Shop √

Jiro Computer √ √ √ √ √ √

LADA & Co √ √ √ √ √ √

Lao IT √

Max MV Com √

Micro Info √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

My Com √ √

NP Equipment √ √ √ √ √

PC Electronic Supplies √ √

Planet Computer √ √ √ √ √ S.O.A. Co Ltd √

Saysiri IT Network √ √ √ √ √

Souphaxay Computer √ √ √ √ √

Souvannasab English and Computer Training Center √

SSS Computer √ √ √ √ √ √ √ TNT Com Ink √

V & T Computer √

Mekong IT √ √ √ √ √

Trivico Computer √ √ √ √ √

Xangdao Consulting ICT and Services √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

XP Computer √ Note: "Others" refers to Data Management and Digital Publishing ; video surveillance technologies; and Mobile Applications.

Source: adapted from Authors’ research and LICA, 2012. Lao ICT Service Market 2012. Vientiane: JICA .


34

Appendix 3. Sample birth certificate and birth certificate request form from Vientiane Capital Birth certificate (2004) for a 20 years old woman (translated).


35

Request for a birth certificate (2015).

Documents

for Digital Birth Registration in Lao PDR January 2015 … of Open Source ... A curse that plagues many ICT for Development Projects is the ... ICT Landscape survey for Digital Birth