<\/p>\n
The discussions took place in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire on May 15 during the ID4Africa 2026 meeting, which brought together United Nations (UN) representatives, government officials, civil society groups and identity experts.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The meeting, facilitated by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the World Bank, focused on practical approaches being tested in countries including Chad, C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, Kenya, Mali, Namibia and Uganda.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Delegates exchanged experiences on how to design national identity systems that recognise all residents, including those often excluded, such as refugees and stateless persons.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Participants said digital identification is increasingly seen as a critical tool for accessing basic services, financial systems and formal economic opportunities. However, gaps in coverage continue to leave vulnerable groups outside national systems.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Patrick Eba, Deputy Director in the Division of International Protection and Solutions at UNHCR, said inclusive systems are essential for building trust and effectiveness. Eba said universality remains the key measure of a functioning digital public system, emphasising that systems must recognise all residents to deliver fully.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The initiative forms part of a wider strategy by UNHCR to reduce reliance on humanitarian assistance by enabling displaced populations to access national services independently. By integrating refugees into national identification frameworks, countries can support long-term social and economic inclusion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Countries participating in the discussions highlighted ongoing reforms to expand registration systems, improve data management and remove legal and administrative barriers that prevent inclusion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":34883,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-34880","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"African governments and international partners are stepping up efforts to include refugees and stateless people in national digital identification systems, as part of a broader push to improve access to services and reduce long term aid dependence.","published_date":"","news_description":"African governments and international partners are stepping up efforts to include refugees and stateless people in national digital identification systems, as part of a broader push to improve access to services and reduce long term aid dependence.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34884,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34880\/revisions\/34884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=34880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}