National Population Commission, UNICEF to Ensure 12 million Nigerian Children Have Birth Certificates

The National Population Commission (NPC) has joined forces with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) to facilitate the registration of 797,209 children in Katsina state with the objective to ensure that approximately 12 million Nigerian children acquire birth certificates for legal recognition across the nation.

The aim is to enable the government to have data that can enhance good governance, and implement policies that foster economic development and can be used by other government agencies.

During a training session for ad hoc officials on Saturday, Ogbodo Adaku, the UNICEF focal person, revealed that children in remote areas across the 361 wards in Katsina will be registered.

Adaku further disclosed that 1,083 ad hoc staff have been recruited from various wards to carry out the registration exercise.

According to Adaku, this extensive birth registration campaign is taking place in 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Adaku emphasized the importance of this exercise, saying,

“We are doing this because we want to register as many as 12 million children in Nigeria that are not visible.

“You and I know that once a child is not registered, by legal implication, that child is not visible, it does not exist.

“We have to do everything to ensure that every child is registered, irrespective of their locality.”

She also said the commission is working to generate data on children that can be used by other government agencies, which is why they are transforming from manual to digital registration.

“The child has been given an identity, and can comfortably say they are Nigerians, that’s the purpose of this massive registration drive with the support of UNICEF,” she added.

In Katsina, the training being conducted is primarily for the ad hoc registrants. The registration process employed in the past was manual but has transitioned toward digitalization.

The goal of this initiative is to ensure the effective dissemination of vital statistics obtained through civil registration.

This data is of utmost importance for government utilization, allowing them to enhance good governance and implement policies that foster economic development.

According to Adaku, within Katsina, the birth registration drive is aimed at approximately 800,000 children. Across the state’s 361 wards, three registrants have been recruited in each ward, resulting in a total of 1,083 registrants.

The organization operates at the grassroots level, closely engaging with the community. This approach enables the assurance that every child, regardless of their birthplace, be it a hospital or home, receives proper registration and is provided with a birth certificate, thus granting them a legal identity.

Additionally, she mentioned that close collaboration is being fostered with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to mobilize communities and raise awareness about the significance of this initiative at the grassroots level.