Increased NIN enrolment critical to faster digital birth registration- NPC

The National Population Commission (NPC) says increased awareness and enrolment for the National Identification Number (NIN) are critical to accelerating the new digital birth registration system for children.

The NPC Registrar at Majek Health Centre, Sangotedo, in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, Mr Gabriel Philip, said the switch to digital registration had made the process faster for many parents.

Philip stated this on Wednesday in Lagos at a two-day media dialogue on birth registration organised by the NPC, Lagos, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

It was reported that the workshop has as its theme: “Giving Every Child a Legal Identity by Driving Birth Registration in Nigeria.”

Philip said the NPC stopped paper registration nationwide on July 1 and moved fully to online registration.

The registrar also stressed the importance of data accuracy, noting that discrepancies in names often caused conflicts.

“This is a legal document for this child. It is used for admission, travel, insurance and family claims. All of these need to be in proper perspective,” he said.

He said the NPC had been educating mothers on the need to obtain NINs for themselves and their children to address registration gaps.

He appealed to residents to take advantage of the free registration window for children aged zero to five years.

“Parents who complete registration now receive a legal document valid for school admission, travel, identification and other official purposes,” he said.

Philip noted that birth certificates issued before July 1 remained valid, but going forward, all new registrations must be processed online.

Earlier, the UNICEF Child Protection Specialist, Mr Denis Onoise, called for strengthened coordination among stakeholders for a robust and holistic digital civil registration and vital statistics system and legal frameworks.

Onoise called for additional support to mobilise a new set of registrars, in addition to recruited volunteers, to scale up social mobilisation and a wider campaign on birth registration and its significance.

On the sidelines of the event, a parent, Mrs Juliet Jude, said her child was registered within minutes, enabling her to collect the birth certificate when she returned for the child’s immunisation.

Jude said the introduction of digital birth registration had made the process seamless, adding that the integration of NIN was also a welcome development.

Also, Mrs Mercy Adedokun, a mother of a two-month-old child, identified delays in obtaining NIN as the biggest challenge hindering uptake, especially among residents of local communities.

Adedokun said poor network connectivity sometimes delayed the digital registration process, making it difficult for health workers to complete and submit birth registration details promptly.

She said the absence of NINs among many parents, coupled with unverifiable numbers provided, often stalled digital birth registration and required follow-up calls to complete the process.