04/05/2023
*NPC To Engage Corps Members In Birth Registration Of 12 Million Children In 2023.*
The National Population Commission has concluded plans to engage 850 Corps Members spread across 22 states in digital birth registration of no fewer than twelve million children between the ages of one and five years, beginning with twenty-two states in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by Alhaji Lawal Abdullahi Mohammed, Head, Civic Registration, National Population Commission, Jigawa State, during the sensitization lecture on Birth Registration at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Fanisau, Jigawa State.
He said that the birth registration which is supported by the United Nations Children's Fund aims at obtaining timely, accurate and permanent records of births in primary healthcare facilities and communities in no fewer than twelve million children in 2023, using digital registration platform.
Alhaji Lawal said that the role of Corps Members during the registration would be as supervisors stressing that they will not only supervise but equally monitor ad-hoc birth registrars at the health facilities and households at ward levels.
The exercise which would last three months, he said, would also require Corps Members to deploy, train and on board the ad-hoc volunteers in the digitalized process and provide all the needed tools for registration purposes.
In addition, he said, Corps Members would be engaged in the printing of the Birth Certificates and distribution to the communities.
The NPC boss who said the Birth Registration was for identification and national planning maintained that if every Nigerian possess Birth Certificates, there would be little or no need for national population census.
He stated that the NPC was striving to achieve that hence Nigerians of 17 years and below are issued with Birth Certificates for free while those from 18 years and above would only get Birth Attestation on payment of Five thousand naira to government through remita.
