The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged stakeholders to strengthen access to birth registration, particularly for vulnerable families, to ensure every child is legally recognised and connected to essential services.

The Chief of the UNICEF Field Office, Celine Lafoucriere, spoke on the sidelines of a two-day birth registration media dialogue in Lagos.

The dialogue drew media practitioners from the South-West and Edo State.

Ms Lafoucriere said registering about 3.5 million children under one year of age in the South-West would improve legal identity coverage and enhance government planning and the delivery of essential services.

She identified limited awareness, geographical isolation and difficulties accessing registration points, including primary healthcare centres and ward-level facilities, as major barriers facing families in affected communities across Nigeria.

According to her, some families understand the importance of registration but struggle to access services, particularly those living in isolated communities where facilities are difficult to reach.

She said UNICEF was supporting government efforts to digitalise birth registration and bring registration services closer to vulnerable families through strengthened systems and community-level interventions across affected areas.

“We are supporting the government to digitalise birth registration and bring services closer to vulnerable families through stronger systems and community-based interventions across affected areas of the country,” she added.

The UNICEF chief urged sustained public awareness campaigns to mobilise families, particularly vulnerable households, to register children and ensure communities understand available registration channels to overcome persistent access barriers effectively.

She also called for stronger efforts to bring registration services closer to communities, noting that improved access would help remove practical barriers preventing families from registering their children promptly.

The programme, organised by the National Population Commission (NPC) in collaboration with UNICEF, had over 50 participants from the zone and will end on August 12. 

(NAN)