Every Child Counts: Catch-Up Birth Registration Through Schools in Cameroon

Highlights

• The Challenge: Over 1.4 million school-aged children in Cameroon lack birth certificates, a barrier to exams and continued education.
• The Initiative: The Ministry of Basic Education (MINEDUB), with UNICEF and partners, launched the Special PAREC Operation, regularising 48,232 pupils in 2024 through mobile court hearings.
• Why It Matters: Birth registration serves as a gateway to rights, including education, health, and protection, aligning with SDG 4 (Education) and SDG 16.9 (Legal Identity).
• The Model: A five-stage process via schools:
  1. Awareness campaigns
  2. Detection of pupils without certificates
  3. Legal validation and issuance
  4. Monitoring
  5. Follow-up for incomplete cases
• Next Steps: Institutionalise school-based registration, digitise CRVS systems, and ensure interoperability between education and civil status data.
• Impact Goal: Make catch-up campaigns redundant by embedding birth registration in routine systems.