By Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Accra, Nov. 4, GNA –Mr Andy Brooks, UNICEF Representative to Ghana, has expressed concern over low birth registration rates in the country.
He said birth registration was critical for ensuring that every child was counted and included in national development planning, adding that children without legal identity often remained invisible in official statistics used for policy decisions.
He said this at the Eighth International Research Conference of the College of Humanities at the University of Ghana.
This year’s conference on the theme, “Inclusion as a Global Imperative: Confronting Inequality and Advancing Equity, Justice and Innovation in a Fragmenting World.”
The College’s annual research conference provides a platform for critical knowledge exchange and policy engagement.
The UNICEF Representative warned that the situation was hampering effective policymaking and limiting access to essential services for thousands of children.
Mr Brooks said available data showed that only about 61 per cent of Ghanaian children possessed birth certificates, leaving nearly four out of every 10 children undocumented.
According to him, the absence of reliable registration data made it difficult for governments and development partners to accurately plan healthcare, education and social protection programmes for children.
Mr Brooks recounted a recent visit to Boapasi in the Eastern Region, where only a handful of children among hundreds gathered in the community had birth certificates.
“The children are not being counted, and if they are not being counted, planners are unable to provide the right level of health, education and other social services for them,” he said.
He attributed the challenge partly to weak telecommunications connectivity and limited access to digital registration services in remote communities, stressing the need for targeted interventions to close the gap.
The UNICEF Representative also underscored the importance of research and evidence-based policymaking, saying quality data was essential for addressing inequalities and directing resources to vulnerable populations.
Professor Samuel Arday Codjoe, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Development at the University of Ghana and Chairperson of the conference, endorsed the call for stronger data systems, noting that previous research based on Ghana Demographic and Health Survey data had highlighted important trends in birth registration.
He said findings from a postgraduate study supervised at the University of Ghana showed that factors such as gender, ethnicity, marital status and religion influenced the likelihood of a child’s birth being registered.
Professor Codjoe recalled that one of the study’s striking findings was that children born to Muslim mothers were significantly more likely to be registered than those born to Christian mothers, illustrating the need for further research to understand behavioural and cultural drivers of registration.
He encouraged researchers to revisit the issue using data from the latest demographic and health survey and reiterated the University’s commitment to promoting research that informed public policy and improved societal outcomes.
Birth registration is the official recording of a child’s birth by the state and forms the foundation of legal identity.
In Ghana, the Births and Deaths Registry has expanded digital registration and public awareness efforts in recent years, yet coverage gaps remain in some rural and underserved communities.
Development experts maintain that comprehensive civil registration systems are essential for effective policymaking, equitable allocation of resources and the achievement of national development goals.
GNA
Reporter: Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Email: [email protected]
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong