The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and the National Population Commission (NPC), is partnering to boost child registration in Gombe State.

Our correspondent reports that the partnership includes training of trainers from all local governments in the state on birth registration, as well as the provision of computer tablets in all wards of the state by UNICEF, to ensure the registration exercise is conducted digitally.

Head of UNICEF’s Bauchi field office, Nuzhat Rafique, presented the devices to the local governments through the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Gombe State chapter, at a ceremony held at Gombe Local Government Secretariat on Wednesday.

She emphasised that birth registration is the first right of the child, adding that the initiative aims to provide each ward in the state with a registration officer equipped with a digital device for seamless registration.

According to her, the partnership between UNICEF, ALGON, and NPC aims to leverage digital technology and decentralise service delivery to enhance accessibility and sustainability.

She called on parents to bring their children for registration, to be included in the country’s population and to gain access to government programmes.

“The digital birth registration process will enable each ward to have a designated registration officer with a device to facilitate efficient registration. This will increase accessibility in communities where every child can be registered easily in their own ward”, she said.

The Chairman ALGON Gombe State, Sani Ahmed Haruna, represented by the deputy chairperson, Fatima Binta Bello, who doubles as Chairman of Shongo Local Government Area, lauded UNICEF for the donation, saying it would significantly enhance registration coverage, ensuring more children have access to essential services and rights as bona fide citizens.

“The collaboration between UNICEF, ALGON, and other stakeholders will strengthen Nigeria’s civil registration and vital statistics system”, the ALGON deputy chairman said.

In his remarks, the Director, National Population Commission (NPC) in Gombe State, Usman Aliyu, expressed gratitude to UNICEF for the support and pledged that the commission would provide adequate personnel to conduct the exercise.