UNICEF has called on the Federal Government to decentralise birth registration to the local government level, saying the move would improve access and ensure more Nigerian children obtain legal identity.
UNICEF Child Protection Specialist, Denis Onoise, made the call on Tuesday at a Birth Registration Media Dialogue organised for journalists in Lagos.
Onoise said an estimated 24.8 million Nigerian children under the age of five lack legal identity due to low birth registration coverage.
He urged the government to decentralise registration services and digitise the process, particularly to reach children in underserved communities.
According to him, legal identity is essential for establishing a child’s recognition before the law and for effective planning and implementation of government programmes in areas such as healthcare, education, housing and social protection.
Onoise identified limited access to registration centres, inefficient processes, inadequate resources and the cost of obtaining birth certificates as some of the factors discouraging families from registering their children.
He warned that children without birth registration could face difficulties accessing education, healthcare and other essential services, while also becoming more vulnerable to child labour, trafficking, abuse and exploitation.
The UNICEF specialist also called for reforms to existing laws, integration of birth registration with primary healthcare services, improved data sharing among government agencies and increased public awareness.
Meanwhile, UNICEF Chief of Lagos Field Office, Celine Lafoucriere, said about 3.5 million children across Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and Edo states lack birth certificates and legal identity.
Lafoucriere stressed that birth registration goes beyond obtaining a certificate, describing it as a vital document that gives children access to essential services and establishes proof of their identity.
She disclosed that Lagos State, in collaboration with the National Population Commission, had launched birth registration for children under one, with certificates issued under the initiative now linked to a National Identification Number.
She, however, said many parents remain unaware that birth registration is free and can be completed at health facilities and through digital platforms.
Lafoucriere urged the media to intensify public sensitisation and encourage parents to register their children.
Earlier, the National Population Commission Director in Lagos State, Kekere Ekun Sherifdeen, said the commission had commenced the full digitisation of birth registration in Nigeria.
