Putting children at the heart of Sierra Leone’s digital public infrastructure
As Sierra Leone expands its digital public infrastructure, child-centred guardrails are helping make digital systems safer, more inclusive and trusted.
FREETOWN, 6 October 2026 – When 23-year-old Alice Zainab Bangura gave birth to her daughter, Ishiatu Mbalu Bangura, her priority was to ensure the newborn received essential vaccinations. Just three days after delivery, she took her baby to the community health centre in Masongbo, a small village in Bombali District, about 180 kilometres north of Freetown.
What she did not expect was for the visit to also secure her daughter’s legal identity and future access to essential services.
“I went to our community health centre to have my baby vaccinated and receive a vaccination card,” Alice Zainab says. “I met staff from the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) who, after conducting some initial enquiries, accompanied me home and registered my baby’s birth using a small portable digital device.”
The registration was completed through Sierra Leone’s digital birth registration system, which is helping more children obtain official recognition of their birth and the documentation needed to access essential services.
For every child a legal identity
According to Henry Tamu, District Registration Officer for the NCRA in Bombali District, digital birth registration is now an integral part of Sierra Leone’s civil registration system.
Birth registration provides official recognition of a child’s existence and can help establish the documentation required to access services and exercise rights throughout life. A birth certificate may be required for processes such as school enrolment, proof of age and obtaining other official documents. Where secure and reliable systems are in place, digital records can also support the storage and retrieval of civil registration information.
“A birth certificate will help my child prove who she is and obtain the documents she may need as she grows up,” says Alice Zainab. “Knowing that her birth has been officially recorded gives me confidence that the information can be available when she needs it.”
“When a baby is registered, the system assigns the child a unique National Identification Number, which can support identification and access to services as the child grows.”
A child-centred digital future
Digital birth registration forms part of Sierra Leone’s broader efforts to build digital public infrastructure that support identity, trusted data exchange and the delivery of public services. When these systems are securely and responsibly connected, verified civil registration information can help authorized service providers identify and better serve children and families.
When designed responsibly, these systems can help service providers identify children who may need support, improve coordination across sectors and make public services more accessible and responsive.
“Digital Public Infrastructure is not just about technology,” says Mohamed Mouminie Jalloh, Chief Director at the Ministry of Communications, Technology and Innovation. “It is also about guardrails, policies and a deliberate effort to ensure that systems can communicate with one another.”
For children, these guardrails include strong cybersecurity, privacy-by-design, responsible data governance, transparency, accountability and inclusion. They should also provide accessible ways to correct inaccurate information, raise concerns and seek redress when harm occurs.
“Digital transformation can make a real difference in children’s lives by improving how services reach them and their families, by putting strong safeguards in place, Sierra Leone can build digital systems that are inclusive, trusted and designed to protect children’s rights.”
Protecting children in digital systems
As children increasingly interact with digital public systems, protecting their personal data and helping them navigate digital environments safely must remain central to Sierra Leone’s digital transformation.
Gemma Payne-Bailey, Cyber Security Specialist at the National Cyber Security Coordination Centre, says cybersecurity awareness initiatives, including school clubs, help children better understand cyberbullying and other online risks.
Together with safeguards such as secure system design, responsible data governance and clear accountability, these efforts can help children benefit from digital innovation while reducing potential risks.
Digital innovation
With support from the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-Develop Fund, UNICEF is working with the Government of Sierra Leone to strengthen and safeguard digital systems that support service delivery and better outcomes for children and families.
“Digital transformation can make a real difference in children’s lives by improving how services reach them and their families,” says Mariko Kagoshima, UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone. “By putting strong safeguards in place, Sierra Leone can build digital systems that are inclusive, trusted and designed to protect children’s rights.”
For families like Alice Zainab’s, the benefits are already becoming tangible. With her daughter’s birth now officially recorded, Alice Zainab feels more confident about her child’s future.
“I want my baby to grow healthy and strong and to have easy access to education and other social services so that she can become a nurse in the future,” she says, smiling as she plays with her daughter.
Alice Zainab’s experience shows the potential of digital birth registration to make legal identity more accessible to families. As Sierra Leone develops its digital public infrastructure, sustained investment in inclusion, data protection and system security will be essential so that every child can be counted, protected and better connected to the services they need.
