International Birth Registration Day is observed annually on October 8. It is used as an occasion to bring awareness to the importance of registering the Birth of children globally while highlighting the possible issues that arise from the failure to register births and to deal with the resultant issues.
Research has indicated that International Birth Registration Day was first observed in 2018 by Johnson’s Baby. That same year, the brand partnered with the humanitarian organization Save the Children on “The Right Start”, a program supporting birth registration programming in the Middle East and Africa. The partnership lasted for three years; during this period, Johnson’s Baby and Save the Children reached an audience of more than half a billion people and helped parents of more than 17,000 children to obtain birth certificates.
In Guyana the Government, having recognized these issues, have enacted legislation in 2021 which have enabled persons who were not registered at birth to be registered allowing them to participate in the democratic processes of the country, contribute to their personal and national development and benefit from the social programmes of the government.
The records at the General Register Office (GRO), which is the statutory agency tasked with the collection, storage, and issuing of these records, have shown that In the five years since the commencement of the observance of International Birth Registration Day, eight thousand eight hundred and fifty-five late registrations were done and seventy-nine thousand seven hundred and eighty-two new births were registered.
During the last year (2022) four thousand and three (4,003) persons who were not registered at birth or in the first year thereafter. While new birth registration was shown to be fifteen thousand two hundred and twenty.
While the Day has not been observed in a significant way in Guyana we at the General Register Office have continually worked to ensure that Guyanese born in Guyana or in foreign countries are registered and issued with certified copies of their certificates as mandated by the Registration of Births and Deaths Act Chapter 44:01.
While the original purpose of birth registration was for tax purposes and to determine the available military manpower. In today’s world birth registration serves several important purposes. It establishes a person’s identity, making them identifiable by a name, nationality, or nationalities, and shows family relations, and age. It also allows access to basic rights and services, such as healthcare, education, and social protection benefits.
It is estimated that more than 230 million persons around the globe are not registered and therefore fall outside of the safety nets established by the various countries. The reasons proffered for this deficiency in the registration of births include lack of knowledge about the importance of timely birth registration, limited access to registration services in remote rural areas, poverty, ethnic or religious background, armed conflicts, and major crises. More than 100 countries in the world simply don’t have a fully functioning civil registration system.
Unregistered children are invisible to their governments; since they don’t have legal proof of identity, they don’t “officially” exist in the eyes of the law. Children without birth certificates can be cut off from healthcare, prevented from attending school and receiving social assistance, etc. Unregistered children are more vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and violence. Migrant and refugee children with no birth certificates are more likely to get separated from their families since there is no proof of family ties, and face a greater risk of statelessness.
To reduce the risk of having vulnerable persons in our society by maximizing the number of registered births in Guyana the General Register Office in addition to its Main Office in the General Post Office Building in Georgetown, has established offices in the Regional Democratic Office Compounds in Regions 1, 2, 6, and 9. Additionally, regular outreaches are done in all Regions of Guyana. Birth registrations are done at all established medical institutions including those privately owned and that information is forwarded to the main office to be retrieved and certificate issued on the request of individuals. Additionally, we have implemented an expedited process where a person can visit any one of our offices to have their transactions processed. It should be noted that certificates in 2021 the GRO began issuing computer-generated certificates having completed the digitization of its birth records.
The services of the General Register Office can also be accessed online via its website gro.moha.gov.gy, its Whatsapp number 6109394, or its Facebook and Instagram pages. The use of the Post Offices as Agents of the GRO to receive applications in the communities and to distribute certificates when processed remains an option.
A birth is the primary source document that establishes the indent of an individual. To this end as the Registrar General, I would personally encourage all Guyanese to ensure you have a copy of your birth certificate. If you don’t have a copy to apply for one. If there seems to be an issue with you receiving your birth certificate please contact one of our offices or through one of our online portals.
Birth registration in Guyana is free while a small fee is charged for the certified copy of that registration, therefore there should be no hindrance to persons registering as Guyanese and receiving that primary source document identifying them as Guyanese.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is the Ministry which oversees the statutory agency responsible for the registration of births in Guyana. That Agency being the General Register Office executes its mandate under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act Chapter 44:01.
In 2021 the Government of Guyana enacted legislation to enable easier access to persons who were not registered at birth to be registered. The computerization of the database and the remote access by offices in the Regions have enabled more persons to be registered and receive their certificate of birth. The Ministry of Home Affairs supports the work of the General Register Office and wishes to encourage all Guyanese to ensure that they are registered. Today, on International Birth Registration Day, we emphasize the importance of ensuring that every child’s birth is officially registered. Birth registration is a fundamental right that unlocks a world of opportunities for children. It provides them with a legal identity, access to education, healthcare, protection from exploitation, and so much more. Let’s make sure no child is left invisible or without a legal identity. #BirthRegistration #EveryChildCounts #InternationalBirthRegistrationDay #ChildrensRights