OVER 7.4 million boys and girls aged five years old have been registered and issued with birth certificates through a special under-five birth registration strategy launched in 2013, minister for Constitution and Legal Affairs, Dr Damas Ndumbaro, has said.
Dr Ndumbaro made the revelation on Friday when launching the plan here in Tabora Region where some 500,000 children are expected to be registered and issued with birth certificates.
He said the process to register and issue birth certificates to the children was rolled out in 23 regions in the country to address low birth registration and certificates rates of children in the country.
The system according to the minister has thus seen registration and birth certification of boys and girls under five increase from 13 per cent in 2012 to 65 per cent in 2021.
The initiative is being implemented by Registration Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) with support from UNICEF Tanzania and TIGO and facilitated by the government of Canada.
In a speech read on his (Dr Ndumbaro) behalf by the ministry's permanent Secretary Ms Mary Makondo, the minister highly commended RITA for ensuring smooth and successful implementation of the plan in 23 regions.
He also thanked UNICEF and the government of Canada for supporting the system that has led to the increase of birth registration and certification of under five children in the country.Meanwhile, Dr Ndumbaro directed RITA to use national identity cards in recognising parents of the children reached out for registration and giving birth certificates.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
He also directed security organs and other concerned authorities to fully participate in the process of birth registration.
Chief Executive Officer of RITA, Ms Angela Anatory, said the strategy has been rolled out in 22 regions, including Mwanza, Mbeya, Iringa, Njombe, Songwe, Geita, Shinyanga, Lindi, Mtwara, Tanga, Kilimanjaro, Rukwa, Morogoro, Coast, Mara, Dodoma, Singida, Arusha, Manyara, Tanga and Katavi.
She said some 500,000 boys and girls are expected to be registered and issued with birth certificates in Tabora in a two-week campaign that kicked off on Friday.
In another development, Head of Cooperation and Senior Director of High Commission of Canada in Tanzania, Helen Fytche, applauded the UNICEF and RITA for their hard work in rolling out the initiative in 23 out of 26 regions.
She said Canada is proud to provide funds in support of Tanzania's under five birth registration system which eliminates barriers to access between urban and rural, rich and poor, boys and girls.
