The absence of birth certificates for millions of children in Africa is emerging as a significant barrier to accessing essential services, including education, healthcare, and citizenship. According to the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, lack of a birth certificate can lead to administrative statelessness, making it difficult for individuals to access resources, identity, and governance. Unicef estimates that only about half of children under five in sub-Saharan Africa had their births officially registered as of 2024.
The issue of birth registration is critical, as it establishes a person's existence under the law and provides legal proof of identity. Without a birth certificate, individuals may face challenges accessing education, healthcare, and other rights protected by the Constitution. According to Unicef, 53 million infants worldwide lack a birth certificate, with 37 million babies unregistered and 16 million whose births are reported as registered but lack proof in the form of a birth certificate.
The problem of unregistered births is particularly pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa, where over 8 in 10 of the 37 million unregistered infants worldwide live. If current levels of birth registration remain unchanged, sub-Saharan Africa could see over 100 million unregistered children after 2030. However, some African countries, including Algeria, Botswana, and Sierra Leone, have achieved registration coverage above 90 percent, demonstrating that political commitment and administrative reach can drive results.
Children of migrants, those born outside health facilities, and those in border communities face significant challenges in obtaining birth certificates. According to Sesame Mogotsi, a policy and governance specialist, "A child can be born in a hospital, given a name, loved by a family, vaccinated, sent to school and still be missing from the state." Mogotsi emphasizes that birth registration is often treated as routine civil-service paperwork, but it is, in fact, one of the earliest encounters between a person and the state.
The absence of a birth certificate can have far-reaching consequences, making it difficult for individuals to access social protection, travel, open a bank account, inherit property, or claim nationality. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), information on births and deaths by location, age, sex, and cause is crucial for public health and social development planning. A birth certificate is the first document a person receives, and without it, individuals can face significant barriers.
In Kenya, the government missed its national birth registration target for 2023 by 354,376, highlighting critical challenges within the country's civil registration and vital statistics systems. The Kenya Vital Statistics Report 2023 showed that the national rate of birth registration fell to 77.1 percent by 2023, indicating ongoing challenges. Digital identity can connect health, education, taxation, and social protection, but digitizing an exclusionary system does not make it inclusive.
To address the issue of unregistered births, health facilities, schools, and social-protection systems can become entry points for reaching children who have been missed by conventional channels. According to Mogotsi, "Before someone can vote, petition a government or demand accountability, they must first be administratively recognizable as a member of the political community." Governments can change this governance problem by prioritizing birth registration and making it more accessible to all citizens.
Key points
- 61 million children under 5 still lack a legal identity, risking exclusion from healthcare, education, and protection.
- Sub-Saharan Africa could see over 100 million unregistered children after 2030 if current levels of birth registration remain unchanged.
- Some African countries have achieved registration coverage above 90 percent, demonstrating that political commitment and administrative reach can drive results.
