Getting to the goal of 100 per cent birth registration

24 August 2015
Getting to the goal of 100 per cent birth registration
A health worker examines a young Lisu boy. Photo: Barbara/EPA

At the third National Forum on Birth Registration in Myanmar held in Nay Pyi Taw on Monday, donors, policymakers and service providers from around the country, reconfirmed the critical importance of birth registration and reflected on what more needs to be done to realise an efficient and effective birth registration system for the country according to a press release from UNICEF on 24 August.
To get to the goal of 100 per cent birth registration, the Government of Myanmar and UNICEF are urging donors to respond to a request for US$1.5 million to support the ongoing national birth registration campaign.
“All children should be registered to enable them to access vital services, such as education and health and social support,” said H.E. U Win Myint Deputy Minister of Immigration and Population in his opening remarks.
Possessing a birth certificate enables the fulfilment of a range of children’s rights including access to education and health services.  Knowing and being able to prove a child’s age is central to protecting children from child labour, forcible conscription in armed forces, child marriage and trafficking, and for ensuring children are dealt with appropriately by the justice system.  The existence of a birth certificate supports the tracing and repatriation of children who have been trafficked.
Forum participants recommended that a Civil Registration Law be developed and that a Civil Registrar General be appointed to coordinate and lead in further developing the national birth registration system.
Myanmar has made considerable progress on birth registration in recent years. Demand for birth registration is being created through awareness raising at region and state level. The successful campaigns in 2014-2015 in the six states and regions of Ayeyarwaddy, Chin, Kayin, Kayah, Magway and Mon saw the registration of more than 300,000 children aged under five years. This brings the national coverage to approximately 79% of births registered, up from 72% in 2009-2010.
Funding is being sought to continue the birth registration campaigns in the other eight states and regions of the country and reach the one million children unregistered children in these areas. This would come close to the goal of 100% birth registration.
There are wide differences across the country. While nearly all children born in Yangon are registered, many children in remote rural areas still lack a birth certificate.
UNICEF Myanmar is collaborating with the Myanmar government under the EU-funded multi-country birth registration project that began in January 2013. Providing technical assistance for strengthening birth registration systems and building capacity at national and sub-national level, the project has created an electronic platform for birth registration. The E-platform operates in all states and divisions. Up to this point, 44 of 330 townships are connected. The E-platform adds real-time data and is a permanent archive of vital registration information.
Mr Bertrand Bainvel, UNICEF Representative to Myanmar congratulated the government and emphasised that, “Achieving one hundred per cent birth registration could be one of the most important quick wins that the reforms can deliver for children.”