United Nation Children’s Fund, on Tuesday, stressed the need for e-birth registration for every Nigerian child, stating that without it, the child is invisible.
UNICEF said this would have an impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of which was to ensure legal identification for everyone by 2030, with a specific target of 16.9 under Goal 16.
Chief of UNICEF Field Office for South West Nigeria, Celine Lafoucriere, stated this during a two-day media dialogue held in Lagos to drive e-birth registration in Southwest.
The dialogue, themed: “Giving Every Child a Legal Identity”, was organized by the Lagos State Ministry of Youth & Social Development, in collaboration with the National Population Commission and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
According to the UNICEF Chief of Field, the e-registration gives an opportunity to produce the statistics required for efficient planning.
She added that the government cannot properly plan for children if it lacks the adequate statistics.
In his remarks, the Lagos State Director of the National Population Commission, Sadiku Bamidele, maintained that eliminating the problems associated with duplicate registration and giving an identity to every child is the primary purpose of the registration documentation.
Bamidele stressed the need to create awareness on birth registration, engage community structure, age groups, government, saying everyone should be involved so that things can be done properly.
