Lack of birth registration in Africa threatens access to basic services

28 / 07 / 2019

By Marwa Nassar - -

Birth registration – which refers to the permanent and official recording of a child’s existence by a country’s administration or government – is very low in African countries and this can negatively affect children’s access to basic services.

As the world is striving to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which call for good health, quality education and well-being, the pressing issue of low birth registration surfaces.

The issue has to be addressed because failure to register children will mainly hamper enjoying health and educational services.

In many economies in Sub Saharan Africa, as well as some countries in South Asia, birth registration in rural areas is very low. According to the most recent surveys available in Ethiopia, Chad, and Zambia, less than 10 percent of children under the age 5 had their births registered at the time of the latest survey. In these countries, and a few others, registration in urban areas was also less than 50 percent.

Lack of registration can negatively impact the ability to access basic services, like health or education, and the protection of individual rights. The Global Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Scaling Up Investment Plan, developed by the World Bank and the World Health Organization in collaboration with other institutions, aims to achieve universal civil registration of births, deaths, marriages, and other vital events, including reporting cause of death, and access to legal proof of registration for all individuals by 2030.