PNG Civil and Identity Registry, the Australian Government and UNICEF launch birth registration campaign to help every child secure a legal identity

PORT MORESBY, 23 September 2026: The Papua New Guinea Civil and Identity Registry (PNGCIR), the Australian Government and UNICEF today jointly launched a campaign to encourage more parents and caregivers across Papua New Guinea to use birth registration services. The campaign aims to increase public understanding of the rights and benefits associated with birth registration and make services easier for families to access.

Over the past two years, progress has been made in integrating birth registration into the health system, including by equipping health facilities with the materials and capacity to register children and provide parents with official proof of their child's legal identity. By offering birth registration where mothers and newborns already receive health services, families can register children more easily and earlier in life. This approach supports every child’s right to a legal identity from birth and provides a practical pathway for expanding birth registration nationwide.

Birth registration is the first step towards giving every child legal recognition. A birth certificate helps establish a child’s identity and age and supports access to health care, education, protection and other essential services throughout life.

“Children and young people are the future of Papua New Guinea, and every child should begin life with a legal identity,” said Mr Leslie Simon, Acting Registrar-General, PNG Civil and Identity Registry. “A birth certificate is the gateway to being recognised by the State and accessing the services and opportunities children need to grow, learn and reach their potential. Bringing registration into health facilities is an important step towards making that right a reality for every child.” 

New information, education and communication (IEC) materials were also launched at the event, including posters, folders, notebooks, banners and birth registration office signage. The materials were jointly developed by PNGCIR and UNICEF with funding from the Australian Government through the Justice for Children programme, managed by UNICEF. They will be distributed across Papua New Guinea to help communities understand the importance of birth registration and where services are available.

“The Australian Government is pleased to support PNGCIR and UNICEF in making birth registration more accessible to families across Papua New Guinea,” said Minister Counsellor Elizabeth Le Bas, Australian High Commission. “This partnership is helping strengthen practical services for children while also giving families the information they need to understand why birth registration matters.”

The Justice for Children programme is supporting PNGCIR to strengthen birth registration systems at both national and subnational levels. This includes supporting legal and policy reforms, expanding birth registration through hospitals and mobile services, building the capacity of registration personnel to assist parents and caregivers, and increasing community awareness and demand for birth registration. From January to August 2026, more than 80,000 children received birth registration services. The programme has also supported the establishment of birth registration services in seven hospitals across seven provinces.

Under the programme, UNICEF and PNGCIR are also working towards procuring and distributing 300,000 additional birth certificates to help meet demand and accelerate certificate issuance. The number of children and young people waiting to receive their birth certificates is estimated at more than one million, with new registrations continuing to add to demand. Delivering certificates at this scale will require sustained government leadership, adequate financing and continued support from partners. 

“Every child deserves to be recognised from the very beginning of life,” said Dr Veera Mendonca, UNICEF Representative in Papua New Guinea. “Putting birth registration services where children are born makes that right easier to realise. We now need to expand this approach through health facilities and frontline services, clear existing backlogs and secure sustained investment in the systems and resources needed to reach every child in Papua New Guinea.”

The launch and handover build on ongoing efforts by PNGCIR, Provincial Health Authorities, the Australian Government and UNICEF to integrate birth registration into frontline services, expand access - particularly for newborns and children in underserved communities - and accelerate progress towards universal birth registration in Papua New Guinea.