Launch of UNICEF Reports on Birth Registration: Main Findings and Programmatic Implications 12 December 2013

Birth registration must be within the civil registry A birth can only be registered by this authority. Ideally this is a national authority or, if not, there is a mechanism to ensure national coordination Some countries do outsource some aspects of the civil registry. Even in these cases the oversight of the function rests with the government.

Birth certificate Is the vital record that documents the birth of a child. It should contain the minimum information. The base material should be a security substrate image using secure printing techniques and a unique identifier.

Birth registration must be continuous, permanent and available The civil registration records must be kept forever. This requires that the records need to be retrievable and that that registrar is accessible. Information technology is part of the solution being a step forward from paper files.

Where we stand today

The births of nearly 230 million children under five have never been registered More than half of these unregistered children live in Asia and around one in three in India In 2012 alone, 57 million births were not registered with civil authorities – or 4 out of 10 babies delivered worldwide Additionally, 1 in 7 of the registered children do not have a birth certificate As results there are 290 million children under five without a birth certificate in the world Some numbers Source: Every Child’s Birth Right: Inequities and trends in birth registration, UNICEF, New York, 2013.

Global and Regional Initiatives GlobalAfricaAsia-PacificEastern Mediterranean Latin America and Caribbean Political Commitment Call to Action to: To increase and sustain effort in investment in CRVS To strengthen global CRVS advocacy Establishment of a Working Group Declaration of African Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration. Ministerial Statement, Second Conference of African Ministers responsible for Civil Registration. ESCAP resolution 67/12 (2011): The Improvement of CRVS in Asia and the Pacific ESCAP resolution 69/15 (2013): Implementing the outcome of the High-level Meeting on the Improvement of CRVS in Asia and the Pacific PLANNED: tripartite Ministerial meeting December Regional Strategic Plan endorsed in WHO/EMRO 60th session of the Regional Committee. Inter-American Program for a Universal Civil Registry and The Right to Identity (2007, 2011) PAHO: Regional Plan of Action for Strengthening Vital and Health Statistics since 2008 Resolution AG/RES (XXXVII-O/07) of the Organization of American States Parliamentary workshop on the right to identity: Promoting universal birth registration in Latin America and the Caribbean Results so Far More than 30 CRVS experts trained in assessment techniques More than 20 countries currently undertaking a rapid assessment of CRVS systems. More than 48 ESCAP member States have completed a rapid assessment. 28 ESCAP member States have completed or are in the process of completing a comprehensive assessment that will lead to national CRVS plans 22 of the 23 EMR countries completed their rapid CRVS assessments. More than half of the EMR countries have now completed comprehensive assessments of their CRVS systems, and are developing national CRVS plans. Commitment by States to achieve full, universal and free registration by Annual reporting of changes and improvements in birth and death registration and coverage

National Initiatives - Parliamentarians Lawmaking – Adopt legislation that advances universal, free, and timely birth registration Budgeting – Ensure that birth registration systems are properly resourced and that budget earmarks for civil/birth registration systems are spent properly Oversight – Oversee and scrutinize government (executive branch performance) with respect to its commitments to implement national birth registration policies and commitments; monitor progress against targets and benchmarks Representation – Serve as community leaders that inform constituents about their rights to identity and available programmes; communicate constituent concerns to relevant government ministries and implementing partners

A country can achieve a high birth registration rate even with low per capita income Source: Every Child’s Birth Right: Inequities and trends in birth registration, UNICEF, New York, 2013.

Many mothers lack knowledge of how to register a child’s birth Source: Every Child’s Birth Right: Inequities and trends in birth registration, UNICEF, New York, 2013.

Pre- Contemplation Contemplation Decision (Ready-to- Act) ActionMaintenance Doesn’t know about problem, hasn’t thought about the issue Doesn’t know completely but has heard Perceives risks and knows about benefits Tries out the information or behaviour, implements specific actions Continues behaviour over short-term, or relapses Becomes a promoter or advocate Stages of Behaviour Change -- A simple model

Why using C4D for CRVS? To strengthen the identification and analysis of who is being left out and why To analyse both the technical and inter-personal capability of frontline workers To build a broad coalition of partners to develop and implement advocacy, social mobilisation and communication strategies for CR

Why using C4D for CRVS? To involve stakeholders, particularly communities and families, in the programme cycle from situation analysis and strategy development to monitoring and evaluating interventions. To develop appropriate evidence based and theory-driven strategies, techniques and messages for knowledge building and fostering positive change in attitudes, behaviours and social norms To mobilize communities! Others?

The children left behind

Source: Every Child’s Birth Right: Inequities and trends in birth registration, UNICEF, New York, 2013.

Children are more likely to be registered as they grow older

Birth registration must be timely and accurate The information in the registration has implications for other obligations and rights for the child, as they become adults and for their children. Completing the registration as soon as possible increases the probability of a precise recording of the event. Digital and mobile technology can be useful to notify the registrar about a birth and in some instances to facilitate the completion of the registration process.

Birth registration must be free To ensure that no one is hindered from realizing this right, whether for regular, delayed or late registration. It is recommended that the birth certificate is also free.

Birth registration must be universal and confidential All people who are born in the country must be able to be registered without prejudice Access to the information in the registry must be strictly controlled, noting in particular that some information is highly sensitive and person and could be misused.

Birth registration may be compulsory Birth registration may be compulsory but only if the other characteristics of well functioning birth registration have been firmly established. In other words only if it is: Within the civil registry Free Continuous, permanent and available Universal in coverage Confidential Timely and accurate

Progress and prospects

Source: Every Child’s Birth Right: Inequities and trends in birth registration, UNICEF, New York, 2013.

8 Steps for the Situation Analysis Step 1—Country birth and civil registration situation Analysis of the status of birth and civil registration in the country Step 2—Organizational reviewExamination of supply-side factors: how the civil registration service is organized and the legal framework on which it is based. Step 3—Legal review Step 4—Demand for civil registration services Analysis of factors related to demand Step 5—Government policy, plans and international support Analysis of the policies and plans that the government has in place and the international support for civil registration that it receives Step 6 – Analysis for Communication for Development Analysis of factors that influence birth registration rates that are relevant to the development of communication strategies Step 7—Analysis and identification of gaps and priority interventions Consolidation of the review that can be used by government to frame future action Step 8—Analysis and possible directions for UNICEF support Review of previous interventions by UNICEF and the type of support that it may provide in the future

Programming for birth registration Organisational change Legal change Stimulating demand Communication for development Building coalitions and strengthening collaboration

ICT and Innovations ITC and in particular SMS technology offer potential for increasing birth registration rates. UNICEF has been a pioneer in the use of mobile phones for birth and death registration, for example in Vanuatu, with technical support from the civil registration service of New Zealand. It is essential that ITC solutions are secure, and also ‘open source’, and that they respond to a genuine need, rather than being driven by service providers.

IT and Birth Registration in Uganda With support from UNICEF, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), is developing a BDR (Birth Death Registration) policy to create an enabling environment; is Implementing a Mobile Vital Records System (Mobile VRS) that was developed through a public private partnership, to improve timely delivery of BDR services in hospitals and local governments. Mobile VRS enables the use of internet connected computers in hospitals and local governments to register births as well as the use of mobile phones in communities to send birth notifications from any part of Uganda into the central government Civil Registration database, in real time. Mobile VRS generates real time reports of birth registered by sex, by geographical location and within a given time frame selected by the user. Since September 2011, a total of 1,486,344 persons have been registered.

Acknowledgements Nicole Petrowski Colleen Murray Yadigar Coskun Ivana Bjelic Lois Jensen Cecilie Modvar UNHCR (Monika Sandvik-Nylund, Mark Manly and Jorunn Brandvoll) UNSD (Haoyi Chen and Srdjan Mrkic) IADB (Mia Harbitz) UNECA (Raj Gautam Mitra) INTERPOL (Jamil Darwish) CRC4D (Gopalan Balagopal, Jaap van der Straaten, Rina Gill, Patricia Ray) … and numerous colleagues in UNICEF regional and country offices. Thanks!