A total of 7,560 children, born between January and June this year in the Upper East Region, have not been registered by the Births and Deaths Registry.
The Registrar of the Births and Deaths Registry, Samuel Adom Botchway, described the situation as worrying, explaining that while the Ghana Health Service (GHS) recorded 20,412 births during the period, the registry only managed to register 12,852 births, leaving the unregistered gap of 7,560.
“We are not even talking about births in homes, but in hospitals where our officers can easily obtain data, yet there is this huge deficit. This is clearly against the President’s vision for the registry, which is that every child born now till 2028 is registered and issued a birth certificate,” he stated.
Tour
Mr. Botchway expressed concern when he paid a visit to the region as part of his national tour to assess the condition of work, understand the challenges faced by officers, and devise measures to address them.
He said the Upper East Region had so far registered 36.9 per cent of the expected births, and going by their pace at the moment, it would be difficult for them to meet the target unless they devised strategies to cover the shortfall.
Birth registration
While at the regional office of the registry, he registered and signed the certificate of a newborn baby, which he described as a privilege, and urged parents to register their newborn babies and spread the message within their communities.
He said registration of children from birth to 12 years was free and therefore encouraged parents to take advantage of the service, adding that, “the birth certificate issued to infants is the official document while the green one provided later is merely a certified copy.”
Registered deaths
The Registrar also expressed concern that death registration in Ghana remained alarmingly low, with only 15 per cent registered in the first six months of the year.
He indicated that it was an offence for a person to die without being registered and a burial permit issued, adding that many deaths, particularly in rural areas, went unregistered as families proceeded with burial without following legal processes.
To address this, he said the registry was collaborating with the Ministry of Local Government to review sections of the Births and Deaths Act while working closely with assembly members to ensure compliance.
Manipulation of ages
In response to a concern raised by the Upper East Regional Minister, Donatus Akamugri Atanga, during a courtesy call to his office on the issue of altering ages, the Registrar stated that the current system made it impossible to manipulate the system and change a person’s age once it had been recorded.
He explained that while minor amendments such as adding a name may be possible, changing a birth date can only occur if there is clear proof of error, which is often difficult to establish because supporting documents, such as Junior High School (JHS) and Senior High School(SHS) certificates bearing the date of birth, may be required as evidence in such cases.
The regional minister acknowledged that despite the crucial role the registry played, it was under-resourced and expressed his commitment to supporting it to carry out its mandate effectively and efficiently.
Challenge
The Upper East Regional Registrar of the Births and Deaths, John Yalmon Badengbanoya, said while his outfit was not pleased with the registration recorded so far, the major challenge had to do with the lack of logistics, including means of transport for officers to carry out their work effectively, particularly at the district level.
While assuring that the registry would cover the shortfall by the end of September this year, he called on the government to resource the registry to enable it to function as mandated.
Source: Graphic.com
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