By Our Correspondent
LAHORE: The Health & Population Department (H&PD), Government of the Punjab, on Wednesday signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) titled “Trilateral Agreement for Integration of Health Facilities in Punjab” with the Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education Department (SH&ME), Local Government & Community Development Department (LG&CD), and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to digitally integrate public health facilities across Punjab for real-time birth and death notification and registration.
According to Karamat Ali, Communication Specialist, NHSP Punjab, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during a formal ceremony held at Committee Room–I, Health & Population Department, 1-Birdwood Road, Lahore, in the presence of senior government officials. The ceremony was organized by the National Health Support Program (NHSP), Punjab.
The agreement was formally signed by Director General NADRA Punjab Ms. Fizza Shahid, Director General Local Government & Community Development Department Mr. Ahmed Kamal Maan, Additional Secretary (Technical) Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education Department Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Waseem, and Special Secretary (Operations), Health & Population Department, Aon Abbas Bukhari. The MoU was also duly endorsed by Additional Secretary (Administration) H&PD Muhammad Ashraf, Additional Secretary (Administration) LG&CD Ms Sadia Mehar, Deputy Secretary SH&ME Muhammad Usman Fazal, and Director (Operations) NADRA, Yasir Saeed.
The Provincial Minister for Health & Population Department, Khawaja Imran Nazir, graced the ceremony as the Chief Guest, while the Secretary Health & Population Department, Ms Nadia Saqib, and Parliamentary Secretary Health & Population, Ms Asma Naz Abbasi, were also present on the occasion.
In her welcome Remarks, Secretary H&PD Ms. Nadia Saqib stated that the initiative aims to strengthen civil registration systems through the deployment of NADRA’s Birth Notification Tool (BNT) and Death Notification Tool (DNT), with integration into Civil Registration & Vital Statistics (CRVS) dashboards and linkage with Local Governments. She further highlighted that integration of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) with NADRA systems has been established through a secure data-sharing mechanism, enabling real-time availability of accurate data. She emphasized that reliable and timely data will support evidence-based policymaking and targeted interventions, particularly in lagging areas.
Speaking on the occasion, Provincial Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir congratulated all partner departments for their collaborative efforts and appreciated the leadership of the Health & Population Department, especially Additional Secretary (Administration) / Project Director NHSP, Muhammad Ashraf, and his team for making the initiative possible. He underscored that the agreement will ensure timely, accurate, and real-time registration of births and deaths occurring at public health facilities, thereby improving data reliability for health planning, governance, and service delivery. The initiative supports the achievement of Disbursement Linked Result (DLR) 6.1 under the World Bank–funded National Health Support Program (NHSP), which focuses on strengthening health information systems through enhanced integration, interoperability, and effective use of digital dashboards, particularly in lagging areas.
The MoU also contributes to Pakistan’s commitments toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2030) by promoting complete, timely, and accurate civil registration. Senior representatives from all partner departments reaffirmed their commitment to effective coordination during the pilot phase, which will inform the province-wide scale-up of the digital registration system.
Earlier, Deputy Director HISDU, Khalid Sharif, briefed participants on real-time data collection mechanisms and the process of data sharing with NADRA. He provided detailed information on the scope of EMR data being entered across health facilities in Punjab on a 24/7 basis. Assistant Director NADRA, Rizwan Ali, also briefed participants on data receipt, verification, and subsequent sharing with the LG&CD Department.
