UNICEF close 'My Name' with an awards of top municipalities
UNICEF honored 40 citizenship champions at JEICOM 2025. After a year-long contest on birth registration, Garoua 2 stood out as the top-performing municipality.
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Oumarou Sanda, the mayor of Garoua 2, raised the national citizenship champion trophy high, his arms outstretched to the sky as the crowd erupted in applause. Alongside him, smiling, were Mrs. Nadine Perrault, UNICEF Representative in Cameroon, and Mr. Georges Elanga Obam, the Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development.
As a reward for his achievement, Mr. Sanda received a cheque for 15 million CFA francs and a large symbolic key. This victory will enable the Northern Region to benefit from a multifunctional truck dedicated to facilitating local birth registration. This initiative aligns with UNICEF's vision of ensuring that no child is left without a legal identity.
"Winning the first Citizenship Award for Birth Registration fills me with immense pride and deep gratitude. This recognition from UNICEF highlights our local authority's commitment to children's rights. It encourages us to continue our efforts to ensure that every child in our municipality is recognised and protected."
A total of three categories were awarded:
1. Category 1: Best overall
2. Category 2: Best three by region
3. Category 3: Best promising practices
The town councils of Koza (Far North), Bikok (Centre), Nitoukou (Centre), Batouri (East), and Limbé 1st (South-West) received cheques ranging from 10 to 14 million francs, along with tricycles and digital equipment, based on their scores:
- Garoua 2: 86.2/120 - 15 million FCFA
- Koza: 85.2 points - 14 million FCFA
- Bikok: 84.3 points - 13 million FCFA
- Nitoukou:78.1 points - 12 million FCFA
- Batouri: 76.4 points - 12 million FCFA
- Limbé 1st: 75.7 points - 10 million FCFA
These awards aim to support the improvement of the birth registration system in the various award-winning municipalities.
UNICEF also recognised certain individuals for their outstanding commitment during the competition. Leading this recognition was Jean Abaté Edi'i, the Governor of the North region, who sponsored a special birth registration initiative. Alexandre Marie Yomo, the Director General of the Bureau National de l'État Civil (BUNEC), was also honoured for the dedication of his teams in the field.
Remarkable Results in the Field
In her speech, Nadine Perrault, UNICEF Representative in Cameroon, praised the commitment of nearly all the municipalities and the impressive results achieved:
- 176 municipalities have established civil registry offices/spaces in health centres.
- 126 municipalities have registered pupils without birth certificates in primary schools.
- 82 town halls have created a budgeted action plan.
- 88 municipalities have set up consultation platforms on civil status.
- 83 municipalities have adopted innovative practices to enhance birth registration.
This progress reflects a collective desire to strengthen birth registration at the local level and foster interoperability among the health, education, and civil registry sectors.
The UNICEF Representative expressed her deep gratitude to all the technical and financial partners involved.
"The progress we have made offers hope. As a result of this dynamic, local civil status systems have been strengthened, innovations have been introduced, and services have been made more accessible to the most vulnerable populations. These achievements are the result of outstanding local leadership, represented by the mayors, who are the true architects of change we are honouring today."
Special prizes are awarded to the champions of citizenship
The 40 highest-ranked municipalities received various equipment, including mobile service tricycles, IT gear, and certificates of recognition.
The Minister for Decentralisation and Local Development, a key player in the success of the My Name campaign, noted that the most recent law on civil status was one of the achievements resulting from this initiative. He emphasised the government's commitment to ongoing improvements in the birth registration system.
A National Commitment to Legal Identity
The competition follows the signing of the Mayors' Charter at the first Mayors' Forum on Birth Registration on April 27, 2024. During this forum, mayors committed to prioritising birth registration at the local level. The "My Name" challenge is a collaborative initiative between UNICEF, the Government of Cameroon—specifically, MINDDEVEL and BUNEC—and local decentralised authorities.
A total of 98% of municipalities, or 367 out of 374, participated in the competition, guided by seven key indicators. These indicators included the establishment of civil registry offices in health facilities, creation of budgeted civil registry action plans, feedback on statistical data, interoperability of information systems, and mobilisation of communities and schools.
Awards Based on Efforts
A jury comprised of representatives from government bodies, including MINDDEVEL, BUNEC, and MINEDUB, as well as technical and financial partners such as FEICOM, the World Bank, GIZ, NASLA, INS, and UNICEF, evaluated the performance of the municipalities.
A Step Towards Inclusive Citizenship
The "My Name" challenge paves the way for a more robust, inclusive, and interconnected civil registration system. It represents a significant advancement in addressing the invisibility of children without legal identities and supports the legal recognition of every child in Cameroon. By laying the groundwork for a more inclusive civil registration system, "My Name" directly contributes to UNICEF's KRC 7, which aims to ensure a legal identity for every child, and aligns with MDG 16.9, promoting universal legal identity by 2030.
" What we have achieved together is much more than a competition: it is a national movement to ensure that every child is visible, recognised and protected. Thanks to this dynamic, public services have come closer to the most vulnerable families, and the impact is already palpable on the ground ", said Nadine Perrault, UNICEF Representative in Cameroon.
