Africa-Press – Tanzania. ARUSHA and Manyara regions have jointly launched the implementation of the decentralised birth registration system.
The three-month exercise will see more than 600, 000 under-five children in Arusha registered and issued with their birth certificates.
Launching the exercise here on Tuesday, Constitution and Legal Affairs Deputy Minister, Geoffrey Pinda challenged the Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) to improve and enhance the efficiency of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) facilities to smoothen the crucial exercise.
“The United Nations has selected Tanzania among the best five countries on the continent to lead the exercise by example, therefore we should afford no room for error,” highlighted the Deputy Minister.
Equally, Mr Pinda urged Arusha and Manyara residents to turn out in their numbers to have their children registered and issued with birth certificates.
“These are valid certificates which will be used in any part of the country, and should be given for free,” he insisted.
On her part, UNICEF Country Representative, Shalini Bahuguna commended the government for rolling out such an initiative countrywide. She described the ‘One Step-One Visit’ approach used in the exercise as an excellent platform that will see more children registered.
“I’m confident that Tanzania will soon feature among the top five countries in birth certification of the continent,” she opined.
According to the UNICEF Country Representative, 80 per cent of births had been registered so far from the base line of a mere 10 per cent, when the exercise kicked off in 2013.
At least 2.5million children are set to be registered in the country by 2030.
Earlier, RITA Board Chairman, Prof Hamis Dihenga disclosed that 23.2 per cent of Arusha residents had been registered and issued with birth certificates, while only 10.6 per cent had done so in Manyara region.
“Much as this is now done for free, we expect to see a huge turnout,” observed the RITA Board Chairman. About 5.4million children have so far been registered since the exercise started in Mbeya and Njombe regions in 2013.
The exercise is funded by the government of Canada to the tune of 69.5bn/- ($320million).
The process uses a simplified process, where instead of relying on one registrar in each district, assistant registrars were trained at ward and village level in local government offices and in hospitals and health clinics, which allowed children to be registered at birth or during vaccination visits.
A birth certificate is a document that provides proof that a child exists.
