Birth registration implies the documentation of the birth of a child, this is made tangible in form of a certificate which attests to the birth of the child.
With the rate of awareness surrounding the importance of birth registration and its implication for the child, it remains that about 50% of children under five are still unregistered and largely at a risk of being unrecognized in their societies.
Jovago.com, to support this great cause and ensure the official birth registration of every child born in Africa, signed a partnership agreement with UNICEF which sees an amount from each booking go to support the “Passport to Protection” programme.
Here are four important reasons why birth registration is important.
Creation of identity
Birth registration gives a legal identity to the child which opens up to a world of opportunities to the child. Access to education is granted with proof of birth registration amongst other privileges.
Access to healthcare
Since a child without a birth certificate is denied the ability to partake in some of the simplest rights it is duly entitled to, it is often the case that children die from easily preventable diseases due to their lack of a birth certificate, possession of one makes them capable of receiving the medical treatments and vaccinations needed.
Rights
Certain individual rights can be withheld without proof of birth certification. In line with the previous point, without possession of a birth certificate, the individual right to health can be jeopardised. The right to get an education, rightfully inherit property, prevent child exploitation is also guaranteed.. All these rely on birth registration to prove identity and thus entitlement to basic rights.
Protection from abuse
Lack of birth documentation renders a child vulnerable to crimes and abuse, since the government has no evidence of the child’s existence, it is incapable of protecting the child from forces of crime. Children in this situation are more susceptible to being recruited as child soldiers or being trafficked.