UNICEF Advocates for Digital Birth Registration in Nigeria

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for the adoption of digital birth registration in Nigeria to ensure every child is granted a legal right to an identity.

This was the focal point of a two-day media dialogue on e-birth registration, held in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development and the National Population Commission (NPC). Chief of UNICEF Field Office for South-West, Celine Lafoucriere, emphasized the importance of e-birth registration in national planning and development, stating that it would enable the Nigerian Government to generate valid statistics for effective planning.

Denis Onoise, UNICEF Child Protection Specialist, outlined the NPC’s goal to register over nine million children under five and four million under one.

He stressed the importance of partnering with primary health centers to achieve these targets. Bamidele Sadiku, NPC Lagos State Director, noted that the e-birth registration platform would improve Nigerians’ lives and prevent duplicate registrations.

The NPC plans to partner with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to link birth registrations with the National Identification Number (NIN), addressing concerns from security agencies regarding birth registration issues.

Report by Fatimah Ibrahim Danjuma

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top

WAVN