The National Population Commission (NPC), with the support of the United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF), has embarked on birth registration in Katsina State, targeting 797,209 children.

Adaku Ogbodo, UNICEF’s focal person, disclosed this during the training of some ad hoc registrants in Katsina on Saturday.

According to her, at least 1,083 ad hoc registrants were recruited to support a massive birth registration drive across the 361 wards in the state.

She said, “This massive birth registration drive is being organised in 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“We are doing this because we want to register as many as 12 million children in Nigeria that are not visible. You and I know that once a child is not registered, by legal implication, that child is not visible; it does not exist.

“NPC having that mandate, we have to do everything to ensure that every child is registered, irrespective of their locality.”

Ms Ogbodo saod the ad hoc registrants must ensure that children from the remotest parts must be registered and issued birth certificates.

She pointed out that the NPC wants to have a format where it would generate statistics that can be applied to other government organisations, “That’s why we are transforming from manual to digital registration.”

Mrs Ogbodo said the ad hoc registrants were recruited at the ward level, noting that they are familiar with their community and can help in the registration of children who are not registered at birth by the NPC.

“In Katsina, the target population of children we are looking at registering during this birth registration drive is almost 800,000.

“And there are 361 wards in the state; in each ward, we recruited three registrants, making 1,083 registrants across the state to work within their wards.

“We are grassroots orientated organisation, and we work within the community; that’s the only way we can ensure that every child, whether born in the hospital or at home, is registered and given a birth certificate,” she revealed.

According to her, the NPC is working closely with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) on social mobilisation to inform people at the grassroots of the importance of the exercise.

She added that all the necessary stakeholders were engaged to sensitise the public so that there would be no resistance.

(NAN)