By Oyebola Owolabi and Ganiyat Mumuni
The National Population Commission (NPC) has partnered the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on the digitisation of birth registration in Lagos State.
At a two-day workshop on the operational kick off, Federal Commissioner of the NPC, Mrs. Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, stressed the significance of understanding Nigeria’s demographics for effective governance. She highlighted the importance of accurate census data for informed decision-making at all levels of government.
According to her, every Nigerian child must have an identity through birth registration, which ensures their access to various benefits and opportunities.
She said: “The Commission aims to ensure that everyone in Nigeria is registered at birth, and must have a birth certificate because registration of birth is a primary identity. We are collaborating with UNICEF so that every child under 18 years must have a birth certificate issued under the authority of the NPC. But when you are over 18 years, you would be required to do attestation which attests your birth documents to ensure it is correct according to what you have presented to us.”
Child Protection Specialist at UNICEF, Dennis Onoise, who emphasised UNICEF’s collaboration with the government and civil society groups to promote birth registration, said the Fund has provided support through training and awareness programmes to encourage parents to register their children.
He noted that digitisation would facilitate mass registration efforts and improve accuracy, while challenges would be raising awareness and encouraging parents to register their children. He also urged the NPC to train stakeholders to adapt to the new system.
Director of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics at the NPC, Mathew Sunday, praised Lagos State for ‘performing relatively well when compared to other states’, but also emphasised the need for continuous improvement.
According to him, the NPC convened stakeholders, including local and international partners, to discuss strategies for increasing birth registration rates in Lagos.
He said: “The ultimate goal is to ensure that all children of registerable age are captured, promoting their rights and protecting them from exploitation. We want to get commitment from this group as to what can be done to move Lagos forward as regards registration of birth and death.
“Abuja is fully digitised, but the NPC aims to achieve full digitisation across all states by the end of the year, enabling improved services and efficient record-keeping.”