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Importance of birth registration published on 19 July 2017

It is every child’s right to have their existence recorded and accounted for, to get an identity and to have that identity registered.

Giving a child a name is essentially introducing them to the world and it is necessary to formalise this introduction through birth registration.

There are many children and adults living in Zimbabwe with no birth certificates and this is a problematic reality.

Failing or neglecting to register a child’s identity has far-reaching consequences that not only affect that child, but will affect children that they too may have in the future.

The Constitution in Section 81 (1) (b) states that; “Every child, that is to say every boy and girl under the age of 18 years has the right to be given a name and family name.”

A notice of birth should be given to the Registrar at the nearest birth and death registration office in your district within 42 days and where there was a stillbirth, such a notice should be done as soon as possible or within 30 days. Birth registration is therefore important and beneficial because;

a) It allows a child easy access to education

Without a birth certificate, a child cannot be enrolled into a government school and cannot write national examinations.

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