UNICEF has released a report with evidence underscoring the importance of counting every child. The report says one in three children born do not exist formally.
This stunning report has prompted UNICEF to vigorously create awareness in developing nations to install and monitor a mechanism of recording child birth.
However the data collected by UNICEF reveals missing gaps of child registration existing in countries.
In Papua New Guinea, birth registration is slowly picking up with birth certificates as a form of recording.
The UNICEF report outlines that birth registration is more than just a right.
It clearly stamps a child’s identity and guarantees their rights to basic services.
However the majority of the population neglect the opportunity to formally record and submit details of the birth of their children, hindering them to receive services. These services include education, health care and legal services.
This has been the normal practice in PNG communities.
UNICEF describes children unregistered at birth as symptoms of the inequities and disparities in societies.
These are children from certain ethnic or religious groups living in remote areas or being born to uneducated parents.
Currently UNICEF is using innovative approaches with governments and communities to strengthen their civil registry systems.
The report concludes that, birth registration has lasting consequences not only for the child’s wellbeing but also for the development of their communities and country.
