Gov Akeredolu Advocates Birth Registration for Children in Ondo for Proper Development

Adewale Momoh, Akure

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has stated that birth certificate will henceforth be a prerequisite for the enrollment of any child into primary schools across the state.

Akeredolu who gave the disclosure on Tuesday at a stakeholders meeting on birth registration in Akure the Ondo State Capital, he added that the National Population Commission’s birth certificate yardstick will also apply to children under the age of five seeking free treatment in government-owned hospitals.

According to the Governor, the measure became imperative as it would be difficult to plan for the unregistered children, hence the need for parents to have their children registered for accelerated development.

“If we do not have child birth registration, we cannot plan properly. Every child must have genuine birth certificate now before entering primary schools in Ondo State,” he said.

Akeredolu who described the programme as the great initiative and appreciative, however appealed to communities and religious leaders as well as, NPC to improve on advocacy and awareness of birth registration in their domains.

Earlier, the wife of the governor, Betty Akeredolu, expressed displeasure that almost half of children under five years in the state were not considered in socio-economic planning and are therefore at risk of lacking access to basic social amenities that could ensure adequate child development.

She further revealed that Ondo State has one of the worst birth registration coverage in Southwest as only 68% of our children were registered.

“No more will our children be without an identity, no more will our children lack access to social infrastructure. They are our children and they must be planned for.

“To improve birth registration, I believe the participation of women in the birth registration framework is quintessential. The reason is simple, women are the first care givers and they determine to a large extent what their children get.

“I knew there was a need to make women in the communities lead birth registration programming,” she stated.