BIRTH REGISTRATION 21 May 2018 CIVIL REGISTRATION AND VITAL STATISTICS (CRVS) DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORT WRITING (DARW) COURSE 21-31 May 2018, Nadi, Fiji BIRTH REGISTRATION 21 May 2018

Why is UNICEF supporting birth registration ? Mandate to implement the Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC), ratified by all countries in the world except one Right to survival (health), development (education), protection (from neglect, abuse, exploitation), participation. Birth registration: right to name, identity, nationality, participation/vote, access to services (right to health, education, social protection, etc.)

Child Protection and Birth Registration Age determination provides access to protection from abuse, neglect and exploitation and to special protective measures for which state has a mandate Child labour: minimum age for employment and conditions for employment according to age – in some Pacific countries 21% of children are doing detrimental work Child marriage: minimum age; some PIC 25% girls married below 18 Minimum age of criminal responsibility Minimum age of sexual consent Special measures are applicable to children victims, witnesses or perpetrators of crime, and children without parental care - at police stations, in courts and by social services mandated by state legislation for child protection

UNICEF support to birth registration Legal and policy development Legal reform National plan National coordination mechanism Capacity building Training of personnel Supervision and monitoring Service delivery Equipment Mobile registration Communication Awareness raising on importance of birth registration Information on services: location, requirements UNICEF has been supporting birth registration in the Pacific since 2008, in particular in Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, in these areas of intervention.

Data issues related to birth registration Different figures Birth notification Birth registration Birth certificate Lack of data Few of the 14 PIC have conducted DHS and most long ago: 7 in 2007, including Nauru or 2009; 1 in 2012 (Tonga); 2 countries for 2nd time in 2014/2015 Discrepancies between figures from administrative data and DHS or other national HH surveys Among the countries participating in course (Cook, Fiji, Nauru, Niue, Tonga), 2 have conducted DHS, Nauru in 2007 and Tonga in 2012.

Discrepancies in birth registration coverage figures Birth registration of children under five years of age Country Year Value Source CRO Oct. 2017 CRO 2016 Cook 2013 70% MDG   Fiji 88% Kiribati 2009 94% DHS 78% Nauru 2007 83% RMI 96% 2017 83.8% ICHNS Samoa 47.7% 2014 58.6% Solomon* 79.1% 2015 44% Tonga 2012 93.5% 2016 97% Census Tuvalu 50% 88.3% Vanuatu 45% 75.5% 62% *Birth notification rate is higher – there is a backlog for entry of notifications into the system. DHS: Demographic and Health Survey ICHNS: Integrated Child Health and Nutrition Survey MDG: Millennium Development Goals Profile

Discrepancies in birth registration coverage figures Birth registration of children under one year of age Country Year Value Source Solomon* 2017 37% CRO Tonga 2016 96% Census Tuvalu 83.6% Vanuatu 69% 2014 92.5% *Birth notification rate is higher – there is a backlog for entry of notifications into the system. CRO: Civil Registration Office Planned MICS/DHS (Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey/Demographic and Health Survey) 2018: Fiji and Kiribati 2019: Nauru, Somoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu Follow up to UNICEF-UNFPA-supported MICS Workshop in March 2018 in Nadi attended by Ministry of Health and National Institute of Statistics from 10 PICT’s. ration system

Access to birth registration services   Country New Born Registration Late registration Time limit Cost of Birth Registration Within time limit Cost of Birth Certificate Cook Islands Law 1 month Practice 14 days. Free within 14 days NZD 25 NZD 20 Penalty per each month delayed from DOB Fiji 1 year Free FJD 2 FJD 9 F S M Pohnpei No time limit  USD 2 Kosrae No time limit USD 3 Yap Chuuk Kiribati 12 months AUD 9 Included in AUD 9 Nauru AUD 10 Niue Palau 10 days USD 25 RMI Samoa 3 months WST 15 WST 20 Solomon Islands 6 weeks Free for children born in health facilities SBD 10 Included in SBD 10 Tokelau Tonga Law 3 weeks Practice 3 months TOP 10 TOP 16 to lodge + lawyers’ fees documents preparation Included in TOP 16 Tuvalu Law 10 days Practice 6 months Free within 3 months Birth Notification 5 Court assessment 10 Declaration 10 Late registration 4 Total of AUD 29 Vanuatu 21 days VUV 1500 Conditions vary from one country to another. Limited time frames and costs may be an obstacle to birth registration. According to UNICEF SMQ for 2014-2017 SP: Birth registration service must be within the civil registry, free, continuous/permanent and available, universal in coverage, timely and accurate. Free refers to no charge being levied for registration, late registration and issuance of first certificate. It does not mean free of all costs incurred during the registration process (e.g. transport). Other requirements: Civil registration records are kept forever; Civil registration records are retrievable [i.e. not just from the place of original registration]; Birth registration is required by law for all births; All births of all children regardless of parental status [refugee, stateless, single parent and so forth] are registered; The principles of non-discrimination are maintained throughout the birth registration process: Birth registration and receipt of the certificate is free.

Obstacles to universal systematic newborn birth registration Inadequate legislation e.g. not free beyond time limit, time limit may be too short Logistics constraints Distance to service, remoteness Lack of knowledge No knowledge of service and requirements Lack of awareness No awareness of importance of birth registration Inadequate services Lack of personnel or training of personnel Lack of equipment Lack of forms, registrars

Way forward What are the objectives with regard to children? Newborn and under five coverage fairly high in the region, should improve even more in coming years: 1st objective is sustainable systematic newborn registration SDG Indicator 16.9.1 is for under five only, but this region should also aim at higher coverage rates for all under 18 – important for child protection: collaboration with schools, and other entities for out-of-school teenagers; catch up campaigns with fee waiver for a limited period of time; etc.

Expected outcome of the DARW course Why do we need data ? Planning and monitoring Advocacy for legal reform if needed and resource allocation What is expected ? Annual data on birth registration coverage for: Under one/newborn during the year Under five Under 18 If possible disaggregated by sex.