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(Kwara State Director, NOA, Olusegun Adeyemi; his counterpart at the National Population Commission, NPC, Alhaji Olaitan Zubair and other dignitaries.)
A nationwide social mobilization for birth registration of children between the ages of zero to five, has been launched in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
The programme which is at the instance of the National Orientation Agency, NOA in partnership with the National Population Commission, NPC and UNICEF, will run till December this year.
Addressing stakeholders at the event, the Kwara State Director of NOA, Mr Olusegun Adeyemi explained that the exercise which is free of charge, will also ensure provision of National Identification Number, NIN to every child registered.
Mr Adeyemi described birth registration as a legal acknowledgment of a child’s existence which will safeguard his or her rights and privileges.
“It is the key to unlocking access to basic services such as education and healthcare, which are crucial for a child’s development and future.
“Moreover, accurate birth registration is vital for national planning and development, as it provides the government with essential data to plan for education,healthcare, and other public services.”
In a presentation, Kwara State Director, National Population Commission, NPC, Alhaji Olaitan Zubair, stated that the registration will be done digitally to ensure validity of data, global access and curb double registration.
Alhaji Zubair said that the data will enable Government plan effectively for the younger population.
“Though the birth certificate from the methodology is not issued immediately unlike the analogue method that the certificate is issued instantly. But the major advantage is that the digital or electronic birth certificate is universally verifiable and acceptability is guaranteed.
“This is because the registered number of the certificate will be used to verify the bio data of the child anywhere in the world unlike the analogue approach that will require visiting place of issuance for verification.”
The NPC State Director pointed out that six hundred and eighty-one adhoc staff had been engaged to work with NPC’s ninety-one registrars across the sixteen local government areas of Kwara State to ensure access.
(A cross section of participants at the event.)
Stakeholders at the event commended the initiative and urged the organisers to ensure adequate coverage particularly for children in the hinterlands.
Participants at the programme include non governmental organizations, civil society groups, traditional rulers, and the media.
The birth registration exercise is a mop up programme with a target of registering over one hundred and fifty-two thousand children between the ages of zero to five by December this year.
By Rasheedat Iliyas
