Launch of UNICEF Reports on Birth Registration: Main Findings
and Programmatic Implications 12 December 2013
Slide 2
Slide 3
Birth registration must be within the civil registry A birth
can only be registered by this authority. Ideally this is a
national authority or, if not, there is a mechanism to ensure
national coordination Some countries do outsource some aspects of
the civil registry. Even in these cases the oversight of the
function rests with the government.
Slide 4
Birth certificate Is the vital record that documents the birth
of a child. It should contain the minimum information. The base
material should be a security substrate image using secure printing
techniques and a unique identifier.
Slide 5
Birth registration must be continuous, permanent and available
The civil registration records must be kept forever. This requires
that the records need to be retrievable and that that registrar is
accessible. Information technology is part of the solution being a
step forward from paper files.
Slide 6
Where we stand today
Slide 7
The births of nearly 230 million children under five have never
been registered More than half of these unregistered children live
in Asia and around one in three in India In 2012 alone, 57 million
births were not registered with civil authorities or 4 out of 10
babies delivered worldwide Additionally, 1 in 7 of the registered
children do not have a birth certificate As results there are 290
million children under five without a birth certificate in the
world Some numbers Source: Every Childs Birth Right: Inequities and
trends in birth registration, UNICEF, New York, 2013.
Slide 8
Slide 9
Slide 10
Global and Regional Initiatives GlobalAfricaAsia-PacificEastern
Mediterranean Latin America and Caribbean Political Commitment Call
to Action to: To increase and sustain effort in investment in CRVS
To strengthen global CRVS advocacy Establishment of a Working Group
Declaration of African Ministers Responsible for Civil
Registration. Ministerial Statement, Second Conference of African
Ministers responsible for Civil Registration. ESCAP resolution
67/12 (2011): The Improvement of CRVS in Asia and the Pacific ESCAP
resolution 69/15 (2013): Implementing the outcome of the High-level
Meeting on the Improvement of CRVS in Asia and the Pacific PLANNED:
tripartite Ministerial meeting December 2014. Regional Strategic
Plan endorsed in WHO/EMRO 60th session of the Regional Committee.
Inter-American Program for a Universal Civil Registry and The Right
to Identity (2007, 2011) PAHO: Regional Plan of Action for
Strengthening Vital and Health Statistics since 2008 Resolution
AG/RES. 2286 (XXXVII-O/07) of the Organization of American States
Parliamentary workshop on the right to identity: Promoting
universal birth registration in Latin America and the Caribbean
Results so Far More than 30 CRVS experts trained in assessment
techniques More than 20 countries currently undertaking a rapid
assessment of CRVS systems. More than 48 ESCAP member States have
completed a rapid assessment. 28 ESCAP member States have completed
or are in the process of completing a comprehensive assessment that
will lead to national CRVS plans 22 of the 23 EMR countries
completed their rapid CRVS assessments. More than half of the EMR
countries have now completed comprehensive assessments of their
CRVS systems, and are developing national CRVS plans. Commitment by
States to achieve full, universal and free registration by 2015.
Annual reporting of changes and improvements in birth and death
registration and coverage
Slide 11
National Initiatives - Parliamentarians Lawmaking Adopt
legislation that advances universal, free, and timely birth
registration Budgeting Ensure that birth registration systems are
properly resourced and that budget earmarks for civil/birth
registration systems are spent properly Oversight Oversee and
scrutinize government (executive branch performance) with respect
to its commitments to implement national birth registration
policies and commitments; monitor progress against targets and
benchmarks Representation Serve as community leaders that inform
constituents about their rights to identity and available
programmes; communicate constituent concerns to relevant government
ministries and implementing partners
Slide 12
A country can achieve a high birth registration rate even with
low per capita income Source: Every Childs Birth Right: Inequities
and trends in birth registration, UNICEF, New York, 2013.
Slide 13
Many mothers lack knowledge of how to register a childs birth
Source: Every Childs Birth Right: Inequities and trends in birth
registration, UNICEF, New York, 2013.
Slide 14
Pre- Contemplation Contemplation Decision (Ready-to- Act)
ActionMaintenance Doesnt know about problem, hasnt thought about
the issue Doesnt know completely but has heard Perceives risks and
knows about benefits Tries out the information or behaviour,
implements specific actions Continues behaviour over short-term, or
relapses Becomes a promoter or advocate Stages of Behaviour Change
-- A simple model
Slide 15
Why using C4D for CRVS? To strengthen the identification and
analysis of who is being left out and why To analyse both the
technical and inter-personal capability of frontline workers To
build a broad coalition of partners to develop and implement
advocacy, social mobilisation and communication strategies for
CR
Slide 16
Why using C4D for CRVS? To involve stakeholders, particularly
communities and families, in the programme cycle from situation
analysis and strategy development to monitoring and evaluating
interventions. To develop appropriate evidence based and
theory-driven strategies, techniques and messages for knowledge
building and fostering positive change in attitudes, behaviours and
social norms To mobilize communities! Others?
Slide 17
The children left behind
Slide 18
Source: Every Childs Birth Right: Inequities and trends in
birth registration, UNICEF, New York, 2013.
Slide 19
Slide 20
Slide 21
Slide 22
Children are more likely to be registered as they grow
older
Slide 23
Birth registration must be timely and accurate The information
in the registration has implications for other obligations and
rights for the child, as they become adults and for their children.
Completing the registration as soon as possible increases the
probability of a precise recording of the event. Digital and mobile
technology can be useful to notify the registrar about a birth and
in some instances to facilitate the completion of the registration
process.
Slide 24
Birth registration must be free To ensure that no one is
hindered from realizing this right, whether for regular, delayed or
late registration. It is recommended that the birth certificate is
also free.
Slide 25
Birth registration must be universal and confidential All
people who are born in the country must be able to be registered
without prejudice Access to the information in the registry must be
strictly controlled, noting in particular that some information is
highly sensitive and person and could be misused.
Slide 26
Birth registration may be compulsory Birth registration may be
compulsory but only if the other characteristics of well
functioning birth registration have been firmly established. In
other words only if it is: Within the civil registry Free
Continuous, permanent and available Universal in coverage
Confidential Timely and accurate
Slide 27
Progress and prospects
Slide 28
Source: Every Childs Birth Right: Inequities and trends in
birth registration, UNICEF, New York, 2013.
Slide 29
Slide 30
Slide 31
Slide 32
8 Steps for the Situation Analysis Step 1Country birth and
civil registration situation Analysis of the status of birth and
civil registration in the country Step 2Organizational
reviewExamination of supply-side factors: how the civil
registration service is organized and the legal framework on which
it is based. Step 3Legal review Step 4Demand for civil registration
services Analysis of factors related to demand Step 5Government
policy, plans and international support Analysis of the policies
and plans that the government has in place and the international
support for civil registration that it receives Step 6 Analysis for
Communication for Development Analysis of factors that influence
birth registration rates that are relevant to the development of
communication strategies Step 7Analysis and identification of gaps
and priority interventions Consolidation of the review that can be
used by government to frame future action Step 8Analysis and
possible directions for UNICEF support Review of previous
interventions by UNICEF and the type of support that it may provide
in the future
Slide 33
Programming for birth registration Organisational change Legal
change Stimulating demand Communication for development Building
coalitions and strengthening collaboration
Slide 34
ICT and Innovations ITC and in particular SMS technology offer
potential for increasing birth registration rates. UNICEF has been
a pioneer in the use of mobile phones for birth and death
registration, for example in Vanuatu, with technical support from
the civil registration service of New Zealand. It is essential that
ITC solutions are secure, and also open source, and that they
respond to a genuine need, rather than being driven by service
providers.
Slide 35
IT and Birth Registration in Uganda With support from UNICEF,
the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), is developing a BDR
(Birth Death Registration) policy to create an enabling
environment; is Implementing a Mobile Vital Records System (Mobile
VRS) that was developed through a public private partnership, to
improve timely delivery of BDR services in hospitals and local
governments. Mobile VRS enables the use of internet connected
computers in hospitals and local governments to register births as
well as the use of mobile phones in communities to send birth
notifications from any part of Uganda into the central government
Civil Registration database, in real time. Mobile VRS generates
real time reports of birth registered by sex, by geographical
location and within a given time frame selected by the user. Since
September 2011, a total of 1,486,344 persons have been
registered.
Slide 36
Acknowledgements Nicole Petrowski Colleen Murray Yadigar Coskun
Ivana Bjelic Lois Jensen Cecilie Modvar UNHCR (Monika
Sandvik-Nylund, Mark Manly and Jorunn Brandvoll) UNSD (Haoyi Chen
and Srdjan Mrkic) IADB (Mia Harbitz) UNECA (Raj Gautam Mitra)
INTERPOL (Jamil Darwish) CRC4D (Gopalan Balagopal, Jaap van der
Straaten, Rina Gill, Patricia Ray) and numerous colleagues in
UNICEF regional and country offices. Thanks!