Children without birth certificates are stateless because they are missing in vital statistics.
The document is not so big, yet it is the very life of the child because it proves its existence. Authorities need to know how many children are born in a year in order to plan for their upkeep. Moreover, a birth certificate is the child's first identity paper. Notwithstanding its importance, many children in Cameroon are without birth certificates - thereby rendering them stateless!
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