The introduction of birth registration in Nigeria will assist the government in navigating its current population planning crisis, says the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Fatimah Adamu, UNICEF’s Child Protection Specialist, said at a two-day media dialogue in Kano that the practice will handle prevailing challenges such as population, resource allocation, planning issues, and access to services.
According to Ms Adamu, it is every child’s first right to be correctly identified at birth, which birth registration can only accomplish.
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She went on to praise the country’s transition from paper-based registration to digital birth registration, calling it a positive move “towards ensuring more children are registered at birth.”
According to the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, just 57% of children born in Nigeria are currently registered with civil authorities.
According to the survey, birth registration is highest in Lagos and the FCT, with 94 and 87 per cent, respectively.
However, states such as Jigawa and Sokoto did poorly in that regard, with 23.6 per cent and 22.5 per cent, respectively, and will require significant assistance in implementing birth registration.
