Disability services and statistics integrated on single digital system

Kathmandu / Sept 29: The identification of people with disabilities, data management, issuance of identity cards and access to social security would be now done through the same digital system.

The Disability Management Information System (DMIS) has been integrated into the Social Information Management System (SIMS) and handed over to the government.

With the handover, the Ministry of Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities, and Social Security has now taken full responsibility for owning, operating, and managing the technical structure of the system.

The goal is to expand the integrated system to 753 local levels.

At a programme held in Lalitpur on Monday, Ministry Secretary Krishna Bahadur Raut said that with the government taking ownership of the system developed by the civic organisations, a new phase of institutional responsibility has begun.

He said that the main task now is to deliver the benefits of the integrated system to local residents and to develop the capacity of local governments to use the system.

The ministry has informed that about 160 local bodies have started operating SIMS in the last two years. SIMS has 11 thematic sections, including social security services, information on governance, and management of beneficiary details.

Earlier, the Social Protection Civil Society Network (SPCSN) had developed DMIS with the aim of identifying people with disabilities, managing records, and making access to social security easier.

With the support of UNICEF Nepal, the DMIS operated in about 40 local levels has been integrated into SIMS. The ministry and the network collaborated to remove the duplication of similar types of work in both systems and to streamline services related to disabilities.

According to the technical documents, the tests conducted at the municipality have shown that the process of identifying disabilities, collecting data, and issuing ID cards has become smoother through the integrated system.

Under the ‘Empowered Women, Prosperous Nepal’ (EWPN) programme, which is run with financial support from the European Union, SPCSN collaborated with the ministry and technically integrated DMIS into SIMS in partnership with UNICEF.

At the programme, Ministry Joint Secretary Bipin Acharya highlighted the importance of an integrated information system for effective service delivery.

Network Chair Gopal Thapamagar mentioned that cooperation between the government and civil society is needed to eliminate duplication of work and increase citizens’ access to social protection.

UNICEF Representative to Nepal, Ms Alice Akunga emphasized that partnership and universal access to digital services are necessary to strengthen social protection. Network’s former president Tilottam Paudel pointed out that the purpose will only be achieved after the system is effectively implemented nationwide. RSS