Blantyre, February 6, 2016: National Registration Bureau (NRB) has expressed concern over low turnout of people going to collect registration birth certificates at their offices.
According to reports there are hundreds of birth certificates whose owners have not collected them since August last year though the process of making such certificates takes less than a month.
Blantyre District Assistant Registration officer, George Chitsonga attributed the development to communication breakdown between NRB office and officials from health facilities on how people will collect the certificates of their children.
“Normally, these women are supposed to be informed during their first encounter at antenatal clinic the need to register their babies in this ongoing national registration exercise and where they can collect the certificates.
“Surprisingly, it appears that they know nothing about the issue as evidenced by our office having heaps of uncollected certificates,” said Chitsonga.
He added; “It seems there is need for massive sensitization particularly as from where people should collect the birth certificates of their children and the period it takes before they check with the responsible office whether or not the certificate is out.”
According to Chitsonga, plans are that, once the child is born he or she is registered via electronic national registration device right at the health facilities and that parents should collect the child’s birth certificate within a period of three to four weeks at NRB office.
“This is so because the process is done within the specified period and delays to collect in time, means certificates will just be piled up in our office like what is happening now,” he said.
Chitsonga however was quick to point out that the office is devising plans that people should start collecting the certificates at the hospital instead of NRB offices as one way of addressing the situation.
“This however, cannot be done within a day because there are some procedures that we need to follow. As we are still waiting, people should continue coming to collect the certificates from our office,” he said adding the health officials will look into how they can trace parents for those children whose certificates are already out.
“Once authorities agree that people should start collecting birth certificate of their children from hospitals where a child was born then we shall immediately start sending these certificates to different health clinics,” he said.
One of the mothers, Enifa Mazunga who gave birth to her son in December, 2015 at Chilomoni Health centre said much as she is aware that there is an ongoing national registration exercise and that her baby was registered, she is not aware as to where she can collect her child’s birth certificate.
“My thinking is that once certificates are out, we shall be informed, I did not know that after some weeks we should go and check with the office of NRB. It is news to me,’ she said.
Mary Makwima who also gave birth at Limbe health centre four weeks ago told Mana that she does not know where the National Registrations office is situated for her to collect the child’s birth certificate.
Currently, the registration exercise is being piloted in four districts of Blantyre, Chitipa, Ntcheu and Lilongwe. In Blantyre district, the exercise is being done in 30 health facilities.
There are plans to roll out the exercise to other districts once the pilot phase has yielded positive results.
