Biometric national ID deployed in Malawi
Information Certainty: Documented
Deployment Purpose: Voter & ID Registration
| Summary |
|---|
| In 2017, Malawi began pilots for a biometric national ID. In 2018, this ID became implemented for all citizens over 18. The system is centralised, through this ID citizens get access to social and health services such as COVID19 vaccines. Internet usage in Malawi is low, however the ID has given rise to a points based citizenship system. The UNDP and Irish Aid were involved as stakeholders and made proposals for the implementation of the ID. |
Products and Institutions:
| Product Deployed | |
|---|---|
| Institutions ⠉ | |
| Datasets | Unknown Dataset 0182 |
| Search software |
Status and Events:
| Status | Ongoing |
|---|---|
| Events | Start (2 January 2017, Documented, , No description) |
| Start Date | |
| End Date |
Users:
| Involved Entities | United Nations Development Programme Irish Aid |
|---|---|
| Managed by | Government of Malawi |
| Used by | Government of Malawi |
Location:
| City | Lilongwe |
|---|---|
| Country ⠉ | Malawi |
Description[ ]
In 2017, stakeholders such as the UNDP at Irish Aid made various proposals to resolve electoral issues before the next election.
Therefore, planning was concluded in early 2017 with the aim to register the biometrics of 9 million Malawians and have ID cards issued by June 2018. The UNDP hired 4,200 young college graduates to be registration officers. The project booked all the hotel rooms in Lilongwe for three months to carry out the training. Efforts were made to hire persons with disabilities, women and albinos who face severe discrimination. With an effective proof of concept, the team skipped a pilot and went to registration proper earlier than planned 2
A points-based system was devised for determining citizenship. 100 points was the threshold needed and various documents would score different numbers of points, from 5 for a tax document, 10 for a marriage certificate, 30 for a pre-2015 birth certificate, 80 for a personal testimony of a village head and advisor, 100 for a national ID card presented in person by a biological parent who is a Malawian.70 percent of Malawi is without electricity and the remaining 30 percent suffers frequent outages so the team used 2,000 solar-powered biometric capture kits 2
The data protection risks of this centralised system have been highlighted.
In the absence of data protection, the safety of people's data and the right to privacy is not guaranteed. In the absence of a data protection law, the Government of Malawi has, in the last five years, embarked on a mass data collection through the national biometric ID for those 16 years and older. Since its implementation in 2018, the national ID has become the only form of identification for all public transactions, including voter registration, mandatory SIM Card registration, banking, MRA, farming subsidies, cash transfers, and Covid-19 vaccinations. Implementing the national ID means people's data is centralised through the ID system 1