NPC laments slow registration of under-five children in Abia

Blames inaccessible funds in dormant bank accounts

The National Population Commission (NPC), in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), has expressed concern over the slow pace of birth registration for children under five in Abia State.

The Commission attributed the delay to technical issues and the inaccessibility of funds released by UNICEF to mobilise ad hoc field staff for the exercise.

Emmanuel Trump Eke, the state NPC Commissioner, confirmed this, stating that UNICEF’s funds remitted for the mobilisation of ad hoc field staff were deposited into a dormant bank account. He also cited technical problems that prevented field staff from accessing the system.

However, Eke assured that both challenges were being addressed to enable the state to fully commence the exercise, which is scheduled to run nationwide from August to November 2024.

Last week, the state NOA, NPC, and UNICEF launched a birth registration awareness campaign.

Mrs Regina Iroha, the state NOA Director, and Mrs Juliana Ezebuiro, the NPC Director, urged parents and guardians to present children under five for birth registration at designated centres during the exercise.

Ezebuiro explained that the NPC is constitutionally mandated to register births and issue two types of birth certificates: Birth Certificates and Attestation of Birth Certificates. Birth Certificates are issued to applicants from 17 years of age, while Attestation of Birth Certificates are for adults over 17 whose birth details were not adequately captured or documented at birth.

She disclosed that the state NPC, in collaboration with UNICEF, organised a three-day Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) training for selected Ad hoc Volunteers (AV) to conduct the mass birth registration of children under five across the 17 local councils of the state.

She added that during the exercise, “these Ad hoc staff, whose catchment areas have been geofenced (demarcated), are expected to visit every home or health facility where a birth has occurred, document the details of each child, including facial capture, and synchronise such details with the NPC National Database in real time.”

At the launch of the awareness campaign at her office in Umuahia, the state capital, Iroha emphasised the importance of birth registration.

She said it is the first legal acknowledgement of a child’s existence and is crucial for safeguarding their rights and privileges, both present and future, among other benefits.