Govt Training Village Heads To Issue Birth And Death Records
The Civil Registry Department has trained over 5,900 village heads to issue birth and death confirmation records for people born or dying outside of healthcare facilities, a government official has said.
This initiative aims to address the challenges faced by mothers who give birth at home and relatives of those who die at home, particularly in rural areas, in accessing birth and death records.
Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe told the Senate on Thursday that the programme is currently being piloted in Manicaland and Matabeleland North Provinces. Said Kazembe (via The Herald):
My ministry, through the Civil Registry Department, is currently working towards capacitating traditional leaders in the implementation of active notification for community births and deaths.
Currently, this programme is being piloted in Manicaland and Matabeleland North Provinces. A total of 5,970 village heads have been trained.
Currently, women who give birth at home are required to bring at least two witnesses to the Registrar-General’s offices to obtain birth certificates and this may discourage some from registering births.
Kazembe also said that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has directed the Civil Registry to streamline the process.
He said the President has instructed the Civil Registry not to ask too many questions and has also waived the fees that were previously required to acquire the vital documents.
More:Â Pindula News
