National birth registration campaign launched

The Madagascar government and aid partners on Friday launched a national birth registration campaign to secure full rights of citizenship for the country's children. About 30 percent of Malagasy children - around 2.5 million - are without a birth certificate, half of whom are older than five years. According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) the main reasons these children remain unregistered vary from the lack of understanding among parents about the importance of registration, to limited administrative capacities in some regions. The Indian Ocean island is one of the poorest countries in the world, with most of its population surviving on less than US $1 a day. "Not having a birth certificate means that a person is not recognised by the state. This limits access to education, employment opportunities and a host of other social services," UNICEF communication officer, Misbah Sheikh, told IRIN. She added that the registration programme would include door-to-door campaigns informing parents, the authorities and children around the country, as well as organising mass retroactive registration sessions. "One of the greatest challenges is informing the population, especially those responsible for child care about the importance of the registration process. The country's laws stipulate that each new borne child should be provided with a birth certificate within 12 days. But many areas in the country do not have the capacity to perform this function," she said. The programme which is estimated to cost US $5.3 million over the next three years will also build the capacity of local authorities to improve the registration process.