Transcript Slide 1
by
Cornelius Williams, Regional Adviser, Child Protection,
UNICEF Regional Office, Nairobi
Levels of birth registration in Africa
Income levels and registration
rates
No correlation between income and registration levels:
Togo; Comoros; Madagascar, Burundi – High
registration levels with relatively low GDPs
Botswana, Swaziland – higher GDPs, but lower levels of
registration.
However,
Statistical analysis show that children under five whose
births have not been registered, tend to:
be poor, live in rural areas, have limited access to health
care,
are not attending early childhood education, have
higher levels of malnutrition and
have higher mortality rates
Most countries show that birth registration is highest
among the richest 20% of population.
Globally,
Around 51 million children born in 2007 have not had
their births registered.
One in four developing countries have less than half of
the births of children registered
Two out of three children in Sub Saharan Africa and
South Asia not registered
In some countries – disparities growing in registration
between rich and poor; urban/rural areas; minority
groups
To Recap, Birth Registration is…
State’s first acknowledgement of a child’s existence.
Claim to privileges and services – health, education,
access to social assistance; family tracing; inheritance
Protection from
Trafficking; Early marriage; Premature enlistment in
armed forces
Child labour; Criminal prosecution as an adult
Provides accurate data for planning
At national and local levels.
Key mandates
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Article 7
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
Article 6
Call for Accelerated Action on the Implementation of
the Plan of Action Towards Africa fit for Children
(2008-2112
Priority Action 7 (a)
African initiatives
Kampala meeting in 2002 of 10 Anglophone Countries;
September 2005, 21 countries (UNICEF and PLAN)
African Day of the Child, 2003 – theme of Birth
Registration.
Dakar meeting of 23 Countries of West and Central
Africa in 2004 (UNICEF and PLAN)
“For children to count they must be counted,”Harry Belafonte, Dakar, 23rd Feb, 2004
Lusophone meeting Angola, 2005
Vicious cycle in birth registration…
Weak system
No registration
No
demand
No
benefits
Government achievements in just
one year - 2009
Legal reforms: Malawi; Uganda; DRC.
Policy and strategy strengthening: Swaziland and
DRC
Capacity building & community awareness
raising: Cote D’Ivoire and Angola
Integration with health services: Sudan, Namibia,
Madagascar
Integration with education: Comoros, Madagascar,
Swaziland
In Conclusion
Strong mandate from the African Charter, the Call for
Accelerated Action and the CRC for action towards
Universal Birth Registration
Evidence from countries in Africa on how progress is
possible even with limited resources
Opportunity to make a strong push to achieve
Universal Birth Registration with the focus on
reaching the Millennium Development Goals in 2015
“An effective system of birth registration is
fundamental not only to the fulfillment of child rights
but also the rational operation of a humane
government in the modern world”
- Justice Unity Dow, in UNICEF “Progress of
Nations, 1998”.