- Children whose birth are not registered are being denied of their fundamental human right;
- Unregistered children eventually lose out of basic social benefits;
- An effective birth registration process is relevant to assist the government in making adequate plans for children.
Dismal Birth Registration Rates
In 2018, Nigeria’s records of registered children accounted for only 38.8% of infants aged less than two. And according to the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), Nigeria booked down only 48% of registered births for kids aged between 2 – 4 years in the same period.
A further breakdown showed a fairly even gender split for registration, featuring 43.4% registered male infants and 41.7% female. On locality, the report revealed a disparity, with birth registration higher in urban areas than rural areas. Children registered within the range of four and below amounts to 59.6% in the urban area; the estimate drops below average in rural areas with 31.5 per cent.
Globally, the West and Central African region has the lowest birth registration rates; accounting for just 45% of children below five years out of 47 million children. For children under one, the rate is lower at 43%. Amongst the 10 countries with the lowest birth registration rates, five of them are from West and Central Africa. The rates vary from nearly complete, over 85% in Cape Verde, Congo, Mali, and Gabon, to less than 25% in Chad, DR Congo, Guinea-Bissau, and Liberia.
The Significance of Birth Registration
In a working system, the government through relevant agencies documents the birth of a child, regardless of locale. This process is called birth registration; on paper, it affirms said child exists. It also represents a permanent and official record of not only the birth of a child but also his/her existence. It is a process that legally recognises a child’s identity.
Broadly, birth registration gives information of the place of birth of an individual and who the parents are. It is one of the basic requirements for the issuing of a birth certificate. Also, a birth certificate remains the first proof of legal existence of an individual; not to mention it’s a fundamental human right, without which said child cannot access essential social services.
Also important is forecasting. A BusinessDay publication attributed Nigeria’s ineffective planning to the vast amount of unregistered children under five. Indeed, a nation can plan, make policies and allocate funds via their population estimate. Birth registration aids with this estimate. You can’t make plans for invisible babies. It also helps the government focus more on programmes that will improve the overall well-being of the child, such as immunisation and education.
Implication of an unregistered child
An unregistered child does not legally exist. It’s that straightforward. By implication, they (such children) could not access basic amenities, routine vaccination or health services. Worse, though, is the fact that these children may be susceptible to violence, abuse, child labour and exploitation.
Sharon Oladiji, the UNICEF Child Protection Specialist, affirmed that the poor birth registration process hinders the generation of relevant public health data and national estimates. This impairs adequate planning and creates a poor functioning civil registration system which affects the ability of a child to exercise his/her basic human rights.
Furthermore, children without a birth certificate cannot carry out basic national activities such as opening a bank account, registering to vote, gaining a passport or securing a job. Such individuals stand a higher risk of statelessness.
Enhancing Birth Registration
Birth registration is imperative to ensure that children are not denied their rights. To improve the process, the federal government (FG) could eliminate registration fees. Also, FG should see to the increase of trained registrars, especially in rural areas. The government can also establish a mobile registration unit to cover the vulnerable population.
Furthermore, the implementation and enforcement of the 2003 Child Registration Act will aid in addressing poor birth registration. Also, the authorities can boost birth registration through specialised funding allocated on a need basis; this would prove more effective as opposed to standard payments.
Also important are advocacy and programmatic actions. To this effect, Nigeria can emulate the success recorded in other countries, implementing a model that works. To achieve this, FG could develop a legislative framework that mandates birth certificates as a prerequisite for obtaining other relevant documents.
Concerning the disparity between locales, FG can develop specialised programmes that highlight the importance of birth registration in rural areas. Recall when Dataphyte observed that over 68% of Nigerians used alternative health facilities, especially in the rural areas. Well, the same recommendation we gave earlier still applies. The government should make plans to train and regularise this auxiliary health facilities. This may boost birth registration in rural areas too.
