EU-UNICEF partnership on birth registration

Birth registration is a fundamental right for children. It is also essential for governments to plan basic services. The EU-UNICEF three-year partnership strengthened birth registration in four countries in Africa (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Uganda and Zambia).

Bringing birth registration services closer to communities 

Decentralizing birth registration to health services, a major component of the EU-UNICEF partnership, means that birth registration is now closer to communities. Parents are able to notify birth of their newborn at the health facility, soon after birth. The process to then register the birth and obtain a birth certificate is considerably shorter and simpler. This has encouraged uptake in Zambia, for example, where the EU-UNICEF supported districts almost doubled their birth registration coverage in just three years.