UNICEF and the National Population Commission (NPC) have called for intensified efforts to ensure every child in Nigeria is registered at birth, warning that millions of unregistered children remain effectively “invisible” to government planning and essential social services.
Speaking during a two-day media dialogue on birth registration, UNICEF Chief of Lagos Office, Céline Lafourcrière, said birth registration was the “foundational first right of a child” and urged parents, government agencies, civil society and journalists to work together to close existing gaps.
Lafourcrière disclosed that about 3.5 million children under one year in the Southwest are currently unregistered, leaving them without an official identity and making it difficult for the government to adequately plan and budget for their health, education and social protection needs.
“If 3.5 million children are still not registered, they will go unnoticed and there will be no government funding to support them simply because they are invisible,” she warned.
According to her, lack of registration could affect children throughout their lives, including access to healthcare and education and, later, participation in civic life, voting and inheritance.
She identified poor awareness among families, geographical isolation and difficulties accessing registration points as major barriers. Although birth registration is available through primary healthcare centres, wards and digital platforms deployed by the NPC, access remains challenging in some communities.
Lafourcrière said UNICEF was supporting the government to strengthen and digitalise birth registration services, bringing registration closer to vulnerable families while increasing public awareness of its importance.
The Lagos State Director of the NPC, Abiola Kekere-Ekun, said the digitalisation of birth and death registration had created an opportunity to expand coverage nationwide.
“Every child must be counted,” he said, stressing that a child without a birth certificate cannot be properly accounted for or included in government planning.
He disclosed that birth registration coverage was projected at 54 per cent in 2024, although UNICEF had cited 43 per cent, and said the NPC expects coverage to expand significantly through digitalisation.
Kekere-Ekun said Nigeria’s long-term goal is to achieve universal birth registration by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The development has major public-health benefits because accurate birth records can help governments estimate populations, plan vaccination and maternal-child health programmes, allocate resources and identify underserved communities.
The officials urged parents to register children promptly and called on journalists to make birth registration a sustained public-interest issue.
Lafourcrière stressed that no child should be left behind, saying every actor—including government, civil society, development partners and the media—has a role in ensuring that every Nigerian child is officially recognised, counted and included in national development planning.
