E-birth registration: UNICEF seeks Nigerians’ effective participation

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has stressed the need for all Nigerians to support and participate in the proposed e-birth registration that will commence soon in the country.

The global agency highlighted numerous benefits that the transition from an analogue to a digital birth registration system will bring, not only to newborns and families but also to the government and society at large.

Chief of UNICEF Field Office for South-West Nigeria, Celine Lafoucriere, made this call at the just-concluded two-day media dialogue in Lagos, saying e-birth registration provides children with the right to a legal identity.

The media forum, themed “Giving Every Child a Legal Identity,” was organized by the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development in collaboration with UNICEF and the National Population Commission (NPC).

No fewer than 65 journalists from print, broadcast, and online media organizations across the South-West and Edo states participated.

At present, and over the years, birth registration in Nigeria has been carried out manually by the NPC and local government councils, with a significant percentage of parents, especially in urban centers, not bothering to register their children officially with the government.

Now, the government is determined to go digital, starting with five states in the Southwest—Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Osun, and Edo—with the target of registering about one million under-five children before the end of 2024.

Speaking virtually at the media forum, Lafoucriere stated that a registered child has an acknowledged right to quality protection, health, education, and other crucial services.

She explained that part of UNICEF’s mission in Nigeria is to see that every Nigerian child is given the right to a legal identity. According to her, birth registration is key; it is not just a simple procedural formality but a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of a child’s legal identity.

“So, e-birth registration,” she pointed out, “is not only important to make a child more visible, but the format will also truly stand as a game changer for a country like Nigeria with huge distance challenges.”

Referring to specific benefits of the innovation, Lafoucriere said the e-birth registration system, which will be stress-free, time-saving, and faster, would assist the government better in planning for the needs of children and even adults.

She said, “If the government does not know how many children to budget for, it will be difficult for it to come up with the right policies and programs for them.”

Similarly, she said e-birth registration would provide an opportunity for parents to register their children as soon as they are born and that accurate and timely data from such registration will allow for effective monitoring of progress made from collective efforts in achieving SDGs, especially those affecting children.

Lafoucriere emphasized the importance of the media in this journey by ensuring they educate and sensitize the public and also stay with the conversation to drive effective participation of all Nigerians in the cause.

Corroborating her, Mr. Dennis Oniose, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Nigeria, emphasized that Nigeria has a lot to gain by adopting e-birth registration as a standard.

He listed the attainment of SDG 16.9 by 2030, which entails providing legal identity for all, including free birth registration, as one of them, urging the media to drive the campaign.

In her welcome address at the event, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mrs. Toyin Oke-Osanyintolu, commended both UNICEF and NPC for their collaboration and for driving the conversation around e-birth registration in the country, saying the initiative demonstrates that the government alone cannot bring real development to the country and its people.

Represented by Mrs. Adeola Olabisi, head of the Public Affairs unit of the ministry, Mrs. Oke-Osanyintolu said e-birth registration would certainly go a long way in contributing to nation-building by putting in place the necessary things for children to have a good beginning in life.

According to her, a good beginning entails giving every child a legal identity, which is not only in line with global best practices but will also help the government to fast-track the achievement of SDGs.

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She noted that the government of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for example, has resolved to ensure that no person is left behind in its THEMES Agenda, hence adding Plus Gender Equality, Social Inclusion, and Youth Engagement to the agenda.

“So, as a ministry, we have always ensured that we do everything necessary to help our children grow and become responsible citizens,” she stressed.

In his presentation at the event, the Lagos State Director of the National Population Commission (NPC), Mr. Bamidele Sadiku, said e-birth registration is the best way to go in this 21st-century knowledge economy.

According to him, a well-developed and functioning civil registration system entails the registration of all vital events, including births and deaths of every individual.

He noted that e-birth registration, when launched, would provide an identity that enables access to a wide variety of basic rights and services as bona fide citizens.

He noted that many parents in Nigeria don’t bother to register their children with the government at birth, and many of those who did later lost such documents to natural or self-inflicted disasters, a practice that allows for age falsification and improper planning for children.

He said e-birth registration would permit the easy linking of a child to his or her other vital details, including National Identity Number (NIN), and prevent double birth registration by a single individual.

In addition, he said the format would also provide accurate records and statistics that will help governments, development partners, and others in their policy and program formulations and implementations.

He said it is only when a country has correct and reliable data that it will be easier for the government to know who needs what, where, when, and in what quantity, citing schools and healthcare facility establishments as examples.

“So, NPC is preparing for the migration from manual to digital birth registration that will commence as soon as practicable,” he added. He said even though children under five years are the initial target for e-birth registration in the country and at no cost, older children will be incorporated along the line.