Some children reach school-going age without birth certificates thus making it difficult for them to be enrolled at schools moreso when they need Identity Documents later in life.
According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, mothers can easily acquire birth records for free from the health facility a woman delivers and the records will be used to get a birth certificate at the Registrar General’s office. The Ministry said in a statement:
Did you know that a birth record can easily be collected for free from the health facility a woman delivers?
Every child has a right to identity: a name, nationality and family. To fulfil this right employ the following:
- Following the delivery of the baby, before you get discharged, make sure you are given the BIRTH CONFIRMATION SLIP
- It is given free of charge
- Use this slip for the acquisition of a birth certificate for your child
- The birth certificate is given at the Registrar General’s office.
- Each health institution has Registrar General Sub-offices that aid all mothers with the process of receiving a birth certificate for their new babies.
- Sub offices are in health institutions to allow you to acquire the birth certificate whilst in the hospital or on discharge
- A birth certificate MUST be acquired within 42 days of having delivered the baby
- Failure to do so is a criminal offence. A stage where no one should get to
- Mother, if you are single, the law allows you as the sole guardian of the child to acquire the birth certificate for your child
ANY CHALLENGES IN THE ACQUISITION OF A BIRTH CERTIFICATE TALK TO YOUR HEALTH WORKER, THE VILLAGE HEAD, CHIEF AND THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE
Children’s rights are fundamental human rights