"Every SDG Target Needs a Form of Identification" – Podcast with Alan Gelb and Mariana Dahan

Summary

"Every SDG Target Needs a Form of Identification"

The CGD Podcast
Date: November 3, 2015
Host: Rajesh Merchandani (B)
Guests: Alan Gelb (A) – Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development
Mariana Dahan (C) – World Bank

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Overview

This episode of the CGD Podcast explores the critical role of legal identification in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Host Rajesh Merchandani speaks with Alan Gelb and Mariana Dahan, authors of a CGD paper, about why identification systems are foundational for development, how lack of ID disproportionately affects women and children, and the innovations and challenges in expanding access to legal identity globally.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Scale and Scope of the Identification Gap

• 2 Billion Without ID:
  • Globally, over 2 billion people—650 million of whom are children—lack any recognized legal identification.
  • "The fact that so many people do not legally exist makes difficult for us to even know how many they are. Data does not exist for us to be able to count them." (Mariana, 01:38)
• Disproportionate Impact:
  • The problem especially affects the poor, rural populations in Africa and South Asia, and disproportionately women and children.

Identity as Both a Right and an Enabler

• Beyond a Right:
  • Legal identity isn’t just a right, but a gateway to full participation in society—accessing education, social protection, financial services, voting, and disaster relief.
  • “We identified at least 10 of the sustainable Development goals and targets where without people having id, it is very difficult to see how these goals and targets can be achieved.” (Alan, 03:02)
• Interconnection with SDGs:
  • Almost every SDG target (of 169) can be linked to identification; it's foundational for delivering rights and services.
  • “I really see identification as a red thread through the entire 2030 agenda.” (Mariana, 05:46)
• Gender Equality:
  • Lack of ID prevents women from asserting rights, accessing property, or inheriting assets.
  • Example: In Malawi, fingerprint-based bank IDs prevent relatives from taking over women's savings after the husband’s death, ensuring financial empowerment for women. (06:42)

The Birth Registration Challenge

• Registration ≠ Identification:
  • Many children are registered at birth but do not possess certificates to prove it; records are often missing or poorly kept.
  • “Children are often registered, but then they don't receive a certificate, so they can't prove that they've been registered.” (Alan, 08:23)
• Systems Need Integration:
  • There’s often a disconnect between birth registration, civil identity, and adulthood credentials.
  • “In many countries, the birth registration process is not properly integrated into an identification process, which matters more as people grow older.” (Alan, 08:59)

New Solutions: Biometrics and System Integration

• Biometric Identification:
  • Biometric systems are “leapfrogging” traditional registries in countries lacking strong administrative systems and becoming the norm in new ID programs.
  • “It is a very useful technology, especially when you don't have very well organized civil registries...almost all of the new systems which are going in now...have used it in some way or another.” (Alan, 10:24)
• World Bank’s ID4D Initiative:
  • A cross-sectoral effort mobilizing 12+ World Bank sections to support countries in building integrated identification systems, supporting both foundational and functional uses.
  • “We would like to help set up a platform that would be an identification system supporting foundational restoration, but also functional uses, meaning multisectoral applications of the IDs.” (Mariana, 13:37)

Is Progress Being Made?

• Signs of Hope:
  • Large-scale programs like India's Aadhaar (over 920 million enrolled) and Uganda's rapid ID rollout show momentum.
  • Focus now should be not just on expanding IDs, but ensuring integration with services (bank accounts, health, education).
  • “If one has data for time, you will see the number is going up. But the important thing now is to make sure that investment is well used and integrated into the programs.” (Alan, 15:37)
• Measurement Gap:
  • While birth registration has defined metrics, there’s a lack of standard indicators for legal identity coverage, complicating progress tracking.

Takeaways for Policymakers

• Shift from Implication to Focus:
  • “The problem at hand today is less the lack of implication and more the lack of focus.” (Mariana, 16:55)
• Strategic Planning Essential:
  • States should treat identity systems as a foundational infrastructure, integrating resources across sectors.
  • “How do you think about this in an integrated way? And how do you use resources...to achieve these goals? I would like it to be a goal driven approach towards providing this for all kinds of applications.” (Alan, 17:20)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the invisibility crisis:
  • “They do not legally exist. What chance in life do they then have?” (Rajesh, 00:53)
• On gender and ID:
  • “A woman who doesn't have a valid form of identification cannot assert her own rights, but also cannot access property, cannot claim the right to divorce and then to inherit whatever she's entitled to.” (Mariana, 05:46)
• On practical technology leapfrogs:
  • “[Biometrics are] a very useful technology, especially when you don't have very well organized civil registries...almost all of the new systems which are going in now...have used it in some way or another.” (Alan, 10:24)
• On the call to action for policymakers:
  • “...if the policymakers, together with the development community would just focus their efforts towards the attainment of this SDG target, then we can certainly succeed.” (Mariana, 16:55)
• On integrated thinking:
  • “You want to manage the public payroll...you want to make sure that transfers are received by the people...you want to make sure that your people can travel internationally. So how do you think about this in an integrated way?” (Alan, 17:20)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:05] Introduction to the invisibility crisis and SDG relevance
• [01:38] The magnitude and demographics of those without ID (Mariana)
• [03:02] Why ID matters for the SDGs (Alan)
• [05:46] Connection between gender equality and identification (Mariana)
• [06:42] Malawi bank example: Biometric IDs and women's empowerment (Alan)
• [08:23] Birth registration challenges and limitations (Alan)
• [10:24] The role of biometrics and technology in new ID systems (Alan)
• [11:38] World Bank’s ID4D program and its approach (Mariana)
• [15:37] Measuring progress and the pace of change (Alan)
• [16:55] Takeaways and recommendations for policymakers (Mariana, Alan)

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Podcast Tone and Language

The conversation is informed yet accessible, balancing concern for vulnerable populations with optimism about technological and policy solutions. Both guests stress cross-sectoral partnerships and strategic planning, encouraging practical engagement from the international development community and national policymakers.

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For further resources and the full paper by Alan Gelb and Mariana Dahan, visit cgdev.org.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Rajesh Merchandani. And thanks for joining me for the CGD podcast. Now, imagine your panic or your frustration if you were to lose, say, your passport or your driver's license. For many of us, they are basic proof of identity, and they allow us to access a huge range of services from, say, getting on a plane or opening a bank account or. Or being able to prove that you are entitled to education or to vote. But now, spare a thought for some 2 billion people, mainly in the developing world, for whom that isn't even an option because they have no legal identity. And that includes around 650 million children who have not been registered at birth. They do not legally exist. What chance in life do they then have? It's a huge obstacle to development, and it has been recognized by the Sustainable Development Goals. They include a specific one on identification. Now, my guests today have been studying identification and development, and they argue that actually, ID is critical in achieving several of the Sustainable Development Goals. Mariana de Haan from the World bank and Alan Gelb, Senior Fellow here at cgd, have authored a paper together on it. It's available on our website and they both join me in the podcast studio today. Guys, welcome. Very nice to have you here.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

Mariana, let's start with you and let's talk a little bit about the problem. The numbers that I was talking about in the introduction of people without legal identity, they seem staggering. Take us through the numbers a little bit. How is it so many and where are they concentrated?

[C]

Thank you. And indeed, you're right, these are huge numbers. And the fact that so many people do not legally exist makes difficult for us to even know how many they are. Right. Data does not exist for us to be able to count them. But we conducted some research and we look at the data that we have, we make some estimates, and we realize that there are more than 2 billion people in the world who today lack a form of recognized ID document. And this number includes children who have not been registered at birth. And we qualify children from 0 to 14 years of age, age, but also adults and mostly women who, for difficult social, contextual circumstances, didn't get an access to id. So we believe that this problem disproportionately affects women and children in the developing world. And we have some good indication that these people come from poor rural areas in Africa and South Asia, mostly.

[B]

And Alan, it's more than just the notion of having an ID as a right in itself. It's also an obstacle to engaging in many parts of society that you And I would take for granted.

[A]

Yes, that's right, Rajesh. We identified at least 10 of the sustainable Development goals and targets where without people having id, it is very difficult to see how these goals and targets can be achieved. For example, there is a target on disasters, disasters relief. How do you deliver relief from disasters which destroy people's homes? They need means of support, they need funds for reconstruction. And there are examples of programs that use very highly developed identification programs to target relief very effectively to these people. Another example is social protection. There is a sustainable development goal on social protection and right now there are around 4 or 500 million people in the developing countries who are getting some form of transfer. Again, these transfers, whether to ordinary people or to refugees, are far easier to make and far more precise if the transfers can be directly to people. So you can trace the entire transfer right down from the entity that provides it right down to the person who receives it. So those are some of the examples. There are others on financial access, on gender equity. We have a number.

[B]

Mariana, any more you can add to that?

[C]

I think as Alan mentioned, there are at least 10, 10 clusters of sustainable development goals that can be enabled if a right and robust mean of identification is put in place. But when we looked with a second look at the, what is called now 2030 Agenda, we realized that almost every target needs a form of identification for someone to be able to access that right, that service. So I actually think we should have a second chance to read and go.

[B]

Beyond those, almost every target. So I mean, some of them, there's 169 targets.

[C]

Absolutely.

[B]

And some of them, you know, have been. Some would question them being in there. Many have said there's too many targets. I mean things like sustainable tourism is one of them. So there's an identity component to that.

[C]

How can you travel without an identity document? And how can you control all the cross border migration that we have? That's another area that can be aided through a form of identification.

[B]

And you mentioned it earlier. One of the kind of key goals, I suppose is gender equality. How important is identity for that?

[C]

Well, it, it appears that a woman who doesn't have a valid form of identification cannot assert her own rights, but also cannot access property, cannot claim the right to divorce and then to inherit whatever she's entitled to as part of the marriage she was participating. So indeed, a woman needs an ID to also vote and to also access educational opportunities, economic opportunities, financial inclusion. So I really see identification as a red thread through the entire 2030 agenda.

[B]

And there's also Some examples aren't there. I think it's in Malawi of an identification system. Is it in a bank where the identifier is. Is it a woman's thumbprint so that a man can't claim the.

[A]

Yes, there is a bank, Opportunity International in Malawi, which is quite a big bank. It's about 500,000 clients. And one of the things they do is they identify their clients uniquely through fingerprints when they enroll. And they have to be able to present that in order to access funds. And they found that, for example, when a woman's husband dies, the relatives may want to come and claim the assets that she has, but they're unable to get the financial assets because they cannot even if they take her savings book or, you know, they can't get it without her own participation, without her fingerprints. So that bank, not surprisingly, has a lot of women clients.

[B]

If identification is crucial to, as you say, almost all of the SDG targets, does that make the target on identification more important than the others?

[C]

Well, I certainly believe that if the targets are in the 2030 Agenda, all of them have equal right to be there. All of them are important. However, I see some targets can act as enablers to others. And that is the not the case for every target, but certainly it Is for Target 16.9.

[B]

Let's talk a little bit about children. We mentioned at the beginning that some 650 million children around the world have not been registered at birth. Is birth registration enough to solving the problems of not having identity?

[A]

I think, you know, by the way, I should mention there are many more children who have been registered at birth, but but don't actually have birth certificates. So children are often registered, but then they don't receive a certificate, so they can't prove that they've been registered. And often it's very difficult to find records of birth registrations in registries because they're not being kept very well. So there are problems actually that go beyond simple birth registration.

[B]

So you could address that and you could register every child at birth and give them a birth certificate. Would that solve the problem problems of identification? Or are there different things here that we need to think about?

[A]

No, I think one has to go further. And one of the problems we see is that in many countries the birth registration process is not properly integrated into an identification process, which matters more as people grow older. So in many countries, for example, there is a break in the identification system between birth registration and what we could call national registration or civil identification. And sometimes that has to fill in for birth registration. That hasn't happened. But even if you have birth registration at some point later on, usually around 15, 17, something like that, a well working system will provide credentials for people that they can use as an adult. Because I mean, anyone can present a birth certificate. But how do you know that this is the person referred to on the certificate? So that's not enough alone. And there have been many cases of birth certificate fraud.

[B]

And so the work you've been doing has been also looking, amongst other things, at the use of biometric identification to actually have a secure way of identifying people. I know you went off to Indonesia earlier in the year and you brought some great pictures back with you of kids being registered. So tell us a little bit then both of you in fact, about what your work has shown or is showing that can be done to address the problem and what is being done.

[A]

Okay, well, yes, I have been looking at biometric identification for several years and how it's being used in developing countries. And of course, you know, it's not the complete answer. Nothing on its own is the complete answer. But it is a very useful technology, especially when you don't have very well organized civil registries. And that's one reason why it's being used in countries almost like leapfrogging. Countries that don't have a strong infrastructure of traditional registries are able to establish an identification baseline and people can then be authenticated against their credential very directly. Or as in the case of India, even with their system, there's no credential at all. They're just authenticated against their iris scans or their fingerprints. So it's a very useful technology indeed. And almost, I would say almost all of the new systems which are going in now, which have been going in over the last 10 years, have used it in some way or another.

[B]

And Marianne, you've been a core part of a broad range of work that the World bank has been doing in this area. It's lending program called ID4 Development ID4D. Tell us a little bit about that.

[C]

Yes, indeed. At the World bank we've launched last year the Identification for Development Agenda. And it was for us a way to conceptualize a coherent approach to how should we address the specific target in the Sustainable Development Goals agenda and also how can we help client countries address this problem in their countries. First, I think what we tried to convey as a message to the international donor community and then the broader stakeholders is to understand, like Alan just mentioned, that the target, as it is stated today, conflates two different, though similar notions but with distinct applications, birth registration, registration and legal identity. And that sometimes there is a disconnect in client countries where in between two different registration processes, which happens in many of our client countries, could be a disconnect and millions of people can go through that gap so that we don't know what is their status, what opportunities can they access, what healthcare, education, etc. So, so we tried to convey this message through the usual processes of consultations that have taken place in shaping up the Agenda 2030. And we were happy that the goal has been endorsed by the majority of the stakeholders. Right now we are in the process of figuring out the core indicators to measure progress. And while there is a very clear understanding on what should be the indicator to measure birth registration in countries, there is almost none on the side of the legal identity. And how should countries approach this? So we've created at the World Bank a working group that includes membership from 12 different entities. And you know, the bank is a very big institution with more than 12,000 people. So it is really unique that so many different global practices entities of the World bank have rallied behind this agenda to come up with a shared vision, common understanding. And then that is something that we would like our client countries to mirror as well. We'd like them to set up structures like that in their agencies, governmental agencies, other stakeholders participating, so that there are more people involved in the process, aware of it, and then participating. So the lending that we are able to provide then would ensure that we are not funding siloed initiatives or something that is built in a very fragmented, disparate way. We would like to help set up a platform that would be an identification system supporting foundational restoration, but also functional uses, meaning multisectoral applications of the IDs, so that there is a real use of the investment made and real benefit to the people in the end.

[B]

You talked about how the World bank program on ID4D, ID4 development is cross cutting across global practices, which is, I guess, a recognition of the importance of identification in many areas of development. But I want to get a sense from both of you what progress is being made. Mariana, you also mentioned that there aren't really any good indicators for how do you measure legal identity. So what progress is being made? I mean, is this a losing battle or are we winning it?

[A]

No, I certainly don't think it's a losing battle at all. So what has happened is that many more countries have introduced ID programs or strengthening their ID programs. And judging by the number of programs and probably by the number of People covered. If you take for example, just what is happening in India with the Adha program, which from nothing several years ago has registered what, 920,930 million people. A country like Uganda has developed an ID program very rapidly. So there are examples and I think if one has data for time, you will see the number is going up. But the important thing now is to make sure that investment is well used and integrated into the, into programs. So, so that it helps people to have bank accounts, for example, it perhaps helps to monitor credit through credit bureaus, which is another use of this, so that you can strengthen the financial system. And so it's not just creating it, it's making sure that it's used. And I certainly don't think it's a losing battle because countries are making progress.

[B]

If policymakers are listening to this, what is your key takeaway for them? What should they take away from this on the whole ID SDG debate? Mariana?

[C]

Well, if I had to be brief, I would just say that the problem at hand today is less the lack of implication and more the lack of focus. And if the policymakers, together with the development community would just focus their efforts towards the attainment of this SDG target, then we can certainly succeed.

[A]

Yeah, I agree. I would say planning one has to think about this strategically as a foundation for all aspects of economic activity and also for many areas of policy. You know, you want to manage the public payroll, you want to make sure that teachers are paid, you want to make sure that transfers are received by the people, people who are supposed to receive them, or you want to make sure that your people can travel internationally. So how do you think about this in an integrated way? And how do you use the resources which you have your own resources, resources from the international community, how do you use them to achieve these goals? So I would like it to be a goal driven approach towards providing this for all kinds of applications.

[B]

Okay, Mariana, Alan, great to have you both in the studio here. Thanks very much for joining us.

[C]

Thank you, Rajesh.

[B]

You can find out much more about CGD's work on identification and the SDGs. And the paper that Mariana and Alan have written together is on our website as well. It'[e-mail] and don't forget to join me, Rajesh Merchandani, for the next podcast from the center for Global Development.