The National Population Commission (NPC) has called for increased enrolment and awareness of the National Identification Number (NIN) to accelerate digital birth registration for children across Nigeria.
NPC Registrar at Majek Health Centre, Sangotedo, Lagos, Gabriel Philip, said the transition to digital registration had made the process faster and easier for many parents. He spoke during a two-day media dialogue on birth registration organised by the NPC in collaboration with UNICEF.
Philip said the NPC stopped paper-based birth registration nationwide on July 1 and moved fully to online registration. He stressed the importance of accurate information, particularly names, noting that discrepancies could create problems when birth documents were needed for school admission, travel, insurance and other official purposes.
He urged parents to take advantage of the free registration window for children aged zero to five years, while noting that birth certificates issued before July 1 remained valid.
UNICEF Child Protection Specialist, Denis Onoise, called for stronger coordination among stakeholders and additional support to recruit registrars, strengthen social mobilisation and expand awareness of the importance of birth registration.
Some parents, however, identified delays in obtaining NIN and poor network connectivity as challenges affecting the digital process. They said unavailable or unverifiable NINs could delay registration and require additional follow-up before birth records could be completed.
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