UNICEF Declares E-birth Registration Vital In Education Planning

United Nations Children’s Fund has said the electronic birth registration aids education planning for children.

Chief of UNICEF Field Office for Southwest Nigeria, Celine Lafoucriere, said this at the opening of a two-day media dialogue on e-birth registration in Southwest Nigeria.

The event was held in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development and the National Population Commission. It was titled, ‘Giving Every Child a Legal Identity: A Media Dialogue to Drive E-Birth Registration in Southwest Nigeria.’

UNICEF and other stakeholders discussed that the newly introduced e-birth registration would help the government to make better provisions for the educational needs of the people.

Lafoucriere explained that e-registration is important to generate statistics for effective education planning, national planning, and development for the country, saying it was important to give every child an identity, which could be achieved through registration.

She stated that accurate and timely data from birth registrations also allows for monitoring the progress made across several sustainable development goals, ranging from preventing poverty and hunger to promoting quality of life and providing quality education.

According to her, “a registered child has acknowledged rights to protection, healthcare, education, and other critical services. Without child registration, children remain invisible to the government, making it a very big challenge to combat the inadequacy for children’s rights.

“E-birth registration is a formidable opportunity to get more children registered and have a legal identity. Because it cuts off the issue of geographic distance, it makes it easier for parents to register their children as soon as they are born.

 “It is an innovative approach that sounds truly like a game-changer for a country like Nigeria, and that will help to enhance the accessibility and efficiency of the birth registration processes.

“Besides, e-birth registration also presents a huge opportunity to create a very robust and reliable civil registration system that not only records birth but also generates vital statistics that are necessary for effective planning and implementation of policy, but also for budgeting, and that is extremely crucial.”

Also speaking, UNICEF Child Protection Specialist Denis Onoise emphasized that e-birth registration could assist the government in determining the necessary infrastructure requirements, such as the number of schools needed, and other developmental priorities within communities.

“It is crucial for parents to register their children immediately after birth. Birth registration provides the first legal identity for a child, which is necessary for school enrollment and later admission into higher institutions. Age verification becomes increasingly important as the child matures; its significance cannot be overstated. We have collaborated with the NPC to ensure birth registration is accessible at Primary Healthcare Centres located near parents’ residences.

“E-birth registration plays a vital role in establishing a child’s legal identity. It enables the government to accurately assess the need for schools and other developmental priorities within communities.”

He added that achieving birth registration in Nigeria would help the country meet Sustainable Development Goal 16.9 by 2030, which aims to provide legal identity for all, including free birth registration.

He revealed that rural communities were more responsive to calls for birth registration, with 78 per cent registration rates, compared to urban centres, which have a 44 per cent registration rate.

 According to Onoise, Nigeria has established 4,000 registration centres across its 774 local government areas to facilitate this process.

In his remarks, the Lagos State Director of the National Population Commission, Bamidele Sadiku, maintained that eliminating the problems associated with duplicate registration and giving an identity to every child is the primary purpose of the registration documentation.

He highlighted that the integration of birth registration with the NIN would streamline data collection and ensure every child’s identity is accurately recorded.

Bamidele emphasized the importance of raising awareness about birth registration and involving community structures, age groups, and government. He stressed that everyone should participate to ensure proper implementation.

According to Sadiku, the e-birth registration platform will improve the quality of life for Nigerians by preventing duplicate registrations of births and deaths.

He disclosed plans to collaborate with the National Identity Management Commission to link birth registrations with National Identification Numbers, thereby establishing a unified and reliable database.

 “Linking e-birth registration with NIN will address issues of multiple registrations and provide a unique identity for every child born in Nigeria,” Sadiku explained.

Permanent Secretary of the Lagos Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Toyin Oke, reaffirmed the state government’s dedication to safeguarding children’s futures through e-birth registration.

Director of Public Finance, Adeola Olabisi, who represented Oke during the event, emphasised the crucial role of the media in advocating for and achieving widespread adoption of the initiative.

UNICEF’s advocacy for digital birth registration aims to create a robust and comprehensive system that supports national planning, enhances child rights, and ensures that every Nigerian child is counted and recognised.