The Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Wisdom Kwaku Deku, has stated that the Ghana Card has significantly improved identity verification and inclusion across the country, while gaining international recognition within the ECOWAS sub-region and beyond.

Speaking during the NIA’s 20th anniversary celebration, Mr Deku disclosed that the Authority has so far registered more than 19.4 million Ghanaians aged 15 years and above and issued over 18.7 million Ghana Cards.

He added that more than 229,000 foreign nationals have also been enrolled on the national identification system.

According to him, the Ghana Card is now recognised as a valid travel document within the ECOWAS sub-region and accepted at more than 44,000 airports globally.

He further revealed that the NIA’s Identity Verification System Platform has processed over 200 million biometric verification requests successfully.

“Today, the NIA has registered over 19.4 million Ghanaians aged 15 years and above and issued more than 18.7 million cards. Additionally, over 229,000 foreigners have been enrolled. By insisting on free issuance at the inception of the National Identification System project, we dismantled economic barriers and eliminated identity silos across the country,” he said.

Mr Deku also announced that the Authority has resumed nationwide registration for children between the ages of six and 14, with more than 90,000 children already registered in the Volta and Oti regions.

He added that proposed amendments currently before Parliament seek to make biometric verification compulsory for transactions in order to strengthen the security and credibility of Ghana’s national identification system.