India is home to nearly one in three
unregistered children worldwide, with 71 million children under the age
of five not having their births recorded, a UNICEF report has said. The
UN agency said globally the births of nearly 230 million children under
five have never been recorded, with Asia being the home to more than
half of these children (59 per cent). Another 37 per cent live in
sub-Saharan Africa and the remaining four per cent are from other
regions. In 2012 alone, 57 million infants, four out of every ten
babies delivered worldwide that year, were not registered with civil
authorities. "Birth registration is more than just a right. It is how
societies first recognise and acknowledge a child's identity and
existence," Geeta Rao Gupta, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, said at a
news conference here yesterday. "Birth registration is also key to
guaranteeing that children are not forgotten, denied their rights or
hidden from the progress of their nations," Gupta said. The new report,
'Every Child's Birth Right: Inequities and trends in birth
registration', collects statistical analysis spanning 161 countries and
presents the latest available country data and estimates on birth
registration. Among the 10 countries with the largest numbers of
unregistered children, India has 71 million, the most, followed by
Nigeria at 17 million. "Nearly one in three unregistered children live
in India," UNICEF said, adding that the lowest levels of birth
registration in India are found among children from the two
largest population groups – Hindus and Muslims. Children from religious
minorities, such as the Sikhs and Jains, are about twice as likely to
be registered. The 10 countries with the lowest birth registration
levels are: Somalia (3 per cent), Liberia (4 per cent), Ethiopia (7 per
cent), Zambia (14 per cent), Chad (16 per cent), Tanzania (16 per cent),
Yemen (17 per cent), Guinea-Bissau (24 per cent), Pakistan (27 per
cent) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (28 per cent). Gupta said
while India's birth registration level was 41 per cent nationwide, there
was a huge gap between states with the highest rates and those with
the lowest, due mainly to accessibility and infrastructure issues.
The education level of a mother has consistently been shown to influence the health and well being of her family. Mothers with some schooling are more likely to know how to register a child than their uneducated peers, she said. Likewise for India, birth registration levels increase with a mother's education. Children unregistered at birth or without identification documents are often excluded from accessing education, health care and social security.
The education level of a mother has consistently been shown to influence the health and well being of her family. Mothers with some schooling are more likely to know how to register a child than their uneducated peers, she said. Likewise for India, birth registration levels increase with a mother's education. Children unregistered at birth or without identification documents are often excluded from accessing education, health care and social security.
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