UNICEF tasks Nigeria, others on technology in birth registrations

In a bid to strengthen birth registration in Nigeria and the rest of Africa, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has tasked the commitment of African governments to invest in technology to improve civil registrations especially of infants, on the continent.

 

The agency aims to highlight the use of technological approaches to make civil registration and vital statistics more simple, affordable and widely accessible.

 

According to UNICEF, in sub-Saharan Africa, less than one in two children under five are registered. At current trends, 115 million children will be left without access to a legal identity and basic social services in their country by 2030.

 

“Globally, the African continent has the lowest civil registration coverage and weak vital statistics systems,” said the agency.

 

However, the organisation’s report notes that 70 per cent of the 5 million children born annually in Nigeria are not registered, just as only 5 per cent of under 5 are registered.

 

Doyin Odubanjo, chairman, Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, said for Nigeria to progress in birth registration, there should be connection with the local government, health systems and services to ensure every new born child is counted and information are documented.

 

“Conducting census will also help Nigeria to get accurate data’s of new-born and the technology by creating a toll free line, as an emergency where a child details can be documented through a mobile registration without going to hospital.

 

“Engaging the religious bodies to encourage members on the need to register their child at birth is also strategy to help, the country merge collation of birth registration; I urge that citizens should embrace respiration for easy identification and policy making,” said  Odubanjo.

 

Leila Pakkala, UNICEF regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa said birth registration is a child’s passport to protection and critical services.

 

 “Today, technology offers an important opportunity for impressive gains in birth registration and building longer term systems. Many countries are exploring innovative practices in Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) that should rapidly be taken to scale,” said Pakkala.

 

 

UNICEF noted that a name and nationality is every child’s right, enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties, added that the greatest number of birth in Africa takes place in Nigeria.

 

 However, one of the requirements of birth certificate are Identification of the child’s father, Father’s presence at registration, Identification of the child’s mother, Mother’s presence at registration, Name of the child.

 

 Marie Pierre Poirier, UNICEF regional director for West and Central Africa said with a legal identity, children can more easily access basic services, such as health and education.

 

 “Linking birth registration with maternal and child health services – especially in remote communities – will move African countries closer to providing equal opportunities to all children,” said Poirier.

 

 To strengthen broader civil registration systems and improve birth registration across the continent, UNICEF has developed tools to support administrative data systems, such as Rapid Pro, a data collection tool that operates with simple mobile phones to record the number of births and deaths, allowing the follow-up of system performance in real time.