ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on Friday urged African countries to modernize civil registration and vital statistics systems to create inclusive and efficient societies.
The urgent call was made by Oliver Chinganya, director of African Center for Statistics at the ECA, as the African continent on Saturday marks the second Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Day under the theme "Birth Certificate for All: Fundamental for Protecting Human Rights and Promoting Inclusion."
The ECA estimated that more than 500 million people across Africa do not have identity cards, of which about 120 million are children who do not have birth certificates.
"Birth certificates also facilitate access to school, health services and social protection benefits, which reduces children's vulnerability to poverty and risk of exploitation," an ECA statement quoted Chinganya as saying on Friday.
"Registration of birth is a key event of civil registration in the life cycle; it is a human right and promotes inclusion," the ECA director added.
"Civil registration increases the credibility of national and local administrators and enhances their capacity to deliver social services by helping to identify what services are needed, where and by whom," he said.
Figures from the ECA also show that more than half of Africa's children are not registered at birth, which the ECA said "renders most of the continent's poor unseen, uncounted and excluded, and by extension affecting their ability to enjoy universal human rights."
Chinganya, who is also director for the Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resource Management Division at the ECA, said the continental Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Day commemoration event aspires "to improve public awareness of the importance of making everyone visible in Africa through universal birth registration and certification."
The ECA director also stressed that an efficient birth certificate platform helps to prevent violations of rights of children, including child marriage, trafficking, child labor and the use of child soldiers, particularly among vulnerable and marginalized populations.
"Unfortunately, in Africa, the demand for registration services remains weak because many people have no adequate awareness about the importance of civil registration for them and their families and the implications that this has for improving access to core government services," Chinganya added.
The ECA also stressed that the civil registration and vital statistics system is "essential for the modern administrative system and good governance, protecting human rights and creating inclusive societies."
The African Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Day, which was declared by African leaders in December 2017 in Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania, is commemorated across the continent for the second time this on Aug. 10.
The first African Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Day was observed last year under the theme "Promoting Innovative Universal Civil Regis¬tration and Vital Statistics System for Good Governance and Better Lives."
