Description: Waziri wa Katiba na Sheria Mhe Dkt Harrison Mwakyembe akikata utepe kuashiria uzinduzi wa Mpango wa Kitaifa wa Usajili na kutoa vyeti vya kuzaliwa kwa Watoto wenye Umri chini ya Miaka mitano kwa Mkoa wa Njombe na Iringa. Uzinduzi ulifanyika katika Viwanja vya Mwembetogwa Mkoani Iringa Alhamisi. Wengine kutoka kushoto ni Mwakilishi Mkazi wa UNICEF Bi Maniza Zaman, Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Iringa Mhe. Amina Masenza, Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Njombe Mhe. Dkt Rehema Nchimbi na Mwenyekiti wa Bodi ya Ushauri ya RITA Prof Hamisi Dihenga.
By Friday Simbaya, Iringa
MORE than 200,000 children less than five (5) years in Iringa and Njombe regions will be registered and issued with birth certificates in the registration exercise launched on 22nd September this year in Iringa region.
The Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs Dr. Harrison Mwakyembe (MP) launched the decentralized births and deaths registration system for the under-five children in Iringa and
Njombe Regions on Thursday.
The exercise will benefit more than 200,000 under -five children in these two regions, reducing the backlog of unregistered children and establishing a system for registering all new births in the regions.
He said the programme will bring registration closer to the community by establishing registration points at health facilities, providing reproductive and child health services, and at the community ward executive offices in line with the government policy of decentralization through devolution.
Dr. Mwakyembe said, “The programme will enable parents in these two regions to have access to more than 700 registration points. Moreover, there will be more than 1,500 Registration Assistants to support the registration process.”
As a special gesture, the government has waived fee for registration under this initiative and the first copy of the certificate is given free of charge.
The initiative is a 'one step, one visit' process and has adapted an innovative way of data collection using mobile phone technology ensuring instant transfer of data which is uploaded through SMSs facilitating a real-time tracking of progress.
The decentralized system marks a significant shift in accelerating birth registration in Tanzania Mainland, after years of stagnation. "We are transforming the system to make it easier for children and their families to access the entitlement of a birth certificate," said Emmy Hudson Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA).
Hudson added that, "this initiative transforms the system into a 'one step, one visit' registration and certification from the existing 'three steps, multiple visits' involving more than one visits to the District Administrative Secretary's office.
Now parents can receive birth certificates from the designated health facilities or through the ward executive offices.
UNICEF Representative in Tanzania Maniza Zaman urged that "Every child has the right to an identity. A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child.
She said that currently Tanzania has a very low level of birth registration which means that millions of children under-five are "invisible" in the nation's records.
This initiative to accelerate birth registration will help more Tanzanian children to claim their rights and be protected.
“This launch also reminds us of the challenges that we have ahead in achieving universal registration of births in Tanzania Mainland,” said UNICEF Representative in Tanzania Maniza Zaman.
She said they stand together with the Government in its efforts to implement the national Civil Registration and Vital Statistics strategy, to review the Births and Deaths Registration Act, and to carry out all activities which help set up a decentralized and comprehensive system.
Improving birth registration and Civil Registration and Vital Statistics will help Tanzania make rapid progress in ensuring its children are on the path to attain their rights stipulated in the Birth and Death Registration Act 1920 and the Law of the Child Act 2009.
The Government too will have better data for policy and planning. The government is implementing this programme with partners, UNICEF, Tigo and Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) with funding from the Canadian Government since 2012.
At present the initiative is going on in two regions Mbeya and Mwanza. The launch marks a new phase in making registration of births ‘accessible’ and ‘affordable’ for Tanzanian children.
The journey started in July 2012 with a pilot in 14 Wards in Temeke District of Dar es Salaam. The initiative saw its first launch in Mbeya region one year later, in July 2013. Then, we moved to Mwanza in June 2015.
So far under the initiative in Mbeya and Mwanza more than 400,000 children less than 5 years of age have been registered and given a birth certificate.
This has helped bridge the rural-urban differential and the gap between poor and rich in registration and certification.
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