Birth Certificate : The Passport To Official Existence

A birth certificate is the first and most important document in anyone’s life. Because it is the basis for the issuance of many other official papers later in life. Like the identity card, passport, death registration, marriage certificate, insurance cover, academic certificates … 
Above all, a birth certificate not only confers nationality on its owner, but also official recognition by being counted amongst those who live in or belong to a particular nation. Thus, the importance of owning a birth certificate can never be stressed enough. It offers rights to the owner, is useful for economic planning, legal purposes, demographic projections, political decision-making, improved governance, appropriate allocation of resources, health needs …
It was against this background that the National Civil Status Registration Office, BUNEC and the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, from December 3-4, 2019 in Ebolowa, headquarters of South Region, organised a workshop on birth registration. The over 50 journalists and other stakeholders who attended the two-day training came from six of Cameroon’s 10 administrative regions – Centre, South, West, Littoral, South West and North West. A similar workshop will be organised later in the month in Garoua, headquarters of North Region for participants from four regions – East, Adamawa, North and Far North. 
With the 2014 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, MICS report putting the rate of birth registration in Cameroon at 66.1 per cent, workshop organisers acknowledged that efforts have since b...