The Lagos State Government just announced a new initiative that will streamline and modernize the birth registration process.
In collaboration with the National Population Commission (NPC), the Lagos State Government is set to commence the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (ECRVS) program on the 2nd of September, 2024.
The NPC had started training ad hoc registrars in the various local governments of the state as preparation measures for the upcoming rollout. The recruitment for ad hoc registrars took place last year, 2023.
At the opening of one of these training sessions in Kosofe Local government, the Federal Commissioner representing Lagos State, Mrs. Saidat Oladunjoye, spoke about the various phases of training that volunteers will undergo.
She outlined the steps that the state had taken to ensure smooth operations in the training centers such as the merging of councils for the training sessions, based on the size and numbers of volunteers available.
Speaking on the exercise she stated;
“This exercise is designed to train our ad hoc officials who will be responsible for the registration of births, ensuring we obtain accurate data on children born in Lagos State,”
“The focus will be on registering children under 1 and 5 years of age. Registrations for children under 1 year will take place at hospitals and other institutions where births occur, while those for children under 5 years will be conducted at the community and ward levels.”
A significant improvement that this new initiative will bring about is the automatic issuance of a National Identity Number (NIN) to every registered child.
In her speech, Mrs. Oladunjoye pointed out the importance of making sure every single child is registered through this system, as the data obtained from the initiative will help the government better plan and assign important resources to various sectors such as health, education, etc. which will aid the development of children.
In her words;
“Through this registration, the government can make informed decisions and create better plans for the future. It will also simplify data retrieval, eliminating the need for paper-based records, which are prone to being lost in transit,”
