Pioneer practical guide on advancing birth registration through schools
UNICEF in partnership with Child Identity Protection (CHIP) has launched the world’s first-ever Operational Guide on how to use schools – one of the largest decentralised public infrastructures – to clear the backlog of unregistered older children, including those who are out of school. Statistics show that millions in primary school do not enjoy the protections of a birth certificate. Much needed, this step-by-step tool persuasively shows the multiple benefits for both the education and civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems such as more efficient planning and provision of age-appropriate curriculum for each pupil. It also identifies the chief enablers to support school-based birth registration such as legal frameworks, digitalisation and community-based outreach, as well as pitfalls to avoid. Throughout, the Guide reiterates the need to prioritise immediate birth registration of newborns so that catch-up mechanisms eventually become redundant. CHIP is privileged to collaborate with partners in multiple countries to reinforce catch-up birth registration mechanisms in schools contributing to efforts to ensure every child has a birth certificate.
