Integrated eBirth service launched in Bahrain

The Health Ministry has officially launched the integrated eBirth Service in a move to deliver faster service. A press conference was held under the patronage of Health Minister Sadiq bin Abdulkarim Al-Shehabi to announce the cyber scheme. The service is launched in collaboration with the eGovernment Authority (eGA), Ministry of Health (MoH), Central Informatics Organization (CIO) and Bahrain Post. The launch ceremony was attended by Health Minister Sadiq bin Abdulkarim Al-Shehabi, King Hamad University Hospital (KHUH) Chief Executive Officer Major-General Doctor Shaikh Salman bin Ateyatalla Al-Khalifa, eGovernment Authority CEO Mohammed Ali Al-Qaed, Central Informatics Organization (CIO) President Dr. Mohammed Al Amer and other health and eGA officials. The service allows electronic registration for newborns rather than following conventional procedures. It allows users to obtain the identity card – CPR - for newborns, apply and attain birth certificates, pay all fees related to such transaction and receive documents via mail. As a result the procedure’s timeframe has been reduced from 4 weeks to 5 days maximum. “As instructed by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa - Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology, the Ministry of Health has managed to adopt the National Health Information System (I-Seha) as a comprehensive healthcare strategy which aims to focus primarily on upgrading health-care services overall,” said Al Shehabi. Mr. Al-Shehabi also announced the launch of the new ministry's website that features a variety of information and detailed data of ministry services with all its various departments and divisions. He said that the new portal would be open for all people to reach out to the ministry for comments, remarks and queries as parts of efforts to upgrade the standards of health services.