STATS SA has published a report on the live births recorded in the National Population register by the Department of Home Affairs in 2010. The percentage of births registered within the year of birth of the child has increased from 47,9% in 2002 to 83,3% in 2010, although there was a slight decrease between 2008 and 2009.

Late birth registrations (those registered after the first year of birth of the child) initially increased consistently between 1992 and 1999, but thereafter decreased up until 2007. This number increased again between 2008 and 2010, in part due to Home Affairs’ campaign to improve birth registration and the local government elections in 2011.

In 2010, 31, 3% of all birth registration were late registrations, compared to the 68, 7% current registration in the first year of birth. The report observes that in 2010, 110 342 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 gave birth. More than 2/3rds (68,8%) of births registered in 2010 did not contain information about the child’s father. Total birth registrations increased by 3,2% between 2009 and 2010 with current birth registrations increasing by 1,1% and late birth registrations by 8,0%.

The report concludes that although the completeness of birth registration has increased, there is clearly still a need to increase efforts to register all births within 30 days of birth.

Advocacy implications

Birth registration is a fundamental right that forms part of the national integrated Early Childhood Development (ECD) package. It is critical that the promotion of birth registration and the provision of appropriate information and support to pregnant mothers, well ahead of the birth date of their babies, be prioritised in all relevant integrated ECD programmes and policies.

Civil society has a key role to play in this regard. However, there is a need for linking information provision and support around birth registration with scaled-up and sustainable national campaigns that target hard-to-reach vulnerable populations. The new revitalized primary health care system, with its emphasis on community and home-based preventative primary care and support, must be a vehicle to drive knowledge and support for birth registration within 30 days of birth. Without a birth certificate health promotion and prevention is going to be hampered. Access to birth certificates must be seen as an essential link in the primary health care cycle.

In a similar vein, the new National Strategic Plan, with its emphasis on community and home-based care and support for key vulnerable populations, must provide a policy, programmatic and funding vehicle for promoting birth registration within 30 days of birth.

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Click here to view the STATS SA report.