UNICEF to launch digital birth registration in Southwest Nigeria

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will launch a digital birth registration initiative across the Southwest states, including Edo, by the end of July. This effort aims to provide every Nigerian child with a legal identity.

UNICEF Child Protection Specialist, Dennis Onoise, announced this during a two-day media dialogue titled, “Giving Every Child a Legal Identity: A Media Dialogue to Drive E-Birth Registration in Southwest Nigeria.”

The event was organized by the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development in collaboration with UNICEF and the Nigeria Population Commission (NPC).

Onoise stated that UNICEF will collaborate with primary health centers in Ekiti, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, and Edo states, targeting almost one million children. In addition to receiving a birth certificate, each child will be assigned a National Identification Number (NIN).

“This initiative aims to reduce preventable deaths among newborns and children under five years of age,” Onoise explained. He expressed confidence that the primary health centers would be adequately equipped to handle the task.

“We plan to strengthen coordination among stakeholders to create a robust and holistic digital civil registration and vital statistics system and legal framework. This includes supporting a monitoring and evaluation framework for program management and accountability processes for the NPC, building the capacity of the NPC hub team, providing innovative technologies to strengthen their technical capabilities, and scaling up social mobilization to increase birth registration, especially for newborns and young children,” he added.

UNICEF Chief Field Officer, Celine Lafoucriere, emphasized the importance of e-birth registration in giving every child the right to a legal identity, crucial for national planning and development.

“E-birth registration should be a right for every child from birth. Once the target of e-registration is met, it will be a game changer for Nigeria, helping the government generate valid statistics for planning,” Lafoucriere said.

NPC Lagos State Director, Bamidele Sadiku, explained that the e-birth registration platform would improve the lives of Nigerians and prevent duplicate birth and death registrations.

He noted that the NPC plans to partner with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to link both registrations with the NIN.

“E-registration will solve the problem of multiple birth and death registrations by linking them with the NIN, providing an identity for every child born in the country. This synergy with the NIN will help us have a common database,” Sadiku stated.

Permanent Secretary of the Lagos Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mrs. Toyin Oke, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to securing the future of children through e-birth registration.

Represented by Mrs. Adeola Olabisi, Director of Public Finance in the ministry, Oke highlighted the media’s crucial role in promoting e-birth registration across Nigeria.