Tsunami response

The 2004 tsunami in Asia highlighted a particular aspect of our Universal Birth Registration campaign – responding to disasters.

Over and above the usual problems created by lacking an official identity, a disaster situation can bring new threats - such as qualifying for emergency assistance such as food aid and refugee status, difficulties in gaining government compensation, difficulty in proving property rights, and threat of trafficking to children who have become orphaned or separated. Therefore, birth registration was prioritised in the child protection element of Plan’s post-tsunami strategy.

Regional lead
Taking a regional lead on the issue, Plan’s Asia office convened a meeting of the civil registrars in April 2005, attended by officials from the Cambodia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand. Representatives from Plan, UNICEF, German Technical Cooperation and Asian Development Bank also attended.

The meeting enabled a co-ordinated approach to:

• analysing issues related to the loss and recovery of identity and property records
• sharing experiences and learning from different approaches to recovering records
• re-establishing registers and providing legal assistance to individuals
• establishing country action plans to recover lost records and set up systems that allow for the safekeeping and recovery of lost documents in the future

At country level, Plan ensured that specific attention was paid to the registration of the most vulnerable children. In Indonesia, for example, Plan began planning a birth registration campaign in partnership with government agencies and community groups soon after the disaster struck.

Eleven year-old Hanny Yulia was registered as part of a Plan project to register 5,000 children in Aceh. Her parents understood the significance of a birth certificate.

“I think it’s important because when she has to go to elementary school and junior school, she’ll need to show her identity,” said her mother.

“And if she takes part in events or contests, or has to go to hospital, it will make things easier then too,” added her father.