Since its inception in 2018 by Johnson's Baby, International Birth Registration Day is observed annually on October 8th. The initiative 'The Right Start,' launched in collaboration with Save the Children, focuses on raising awareness about this often overlooked matter in the Middle East and Africa. Birth certificates serve as vital legal documents, enabling access to education, healthcare, and social support systems, thereby mitigating children's susceptibility to poverty, vulnerability, and exploitation. Shockingly, more than 230 million children worldwide remain unregistered, depriving them of essential human rights, necessities, and safeguards.

History and Background

• Establishment: International Birth Registration Day was established to draw attention to the global issue of under-registration of births, particularly in developing countries.
• Initiative: It was initiated by the United Nations and partners to promote universal birth registration and advocate for legal identity for all individuals.

Objectives and Significance

• Human Rights: Highlight birth registration as a fundamental human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Legal Identity: Advocate for legal identity for all individuals, which is essential for accessing basic services, healthcare, education, and social protection.
• Data for Development: Emphasize the role of birth registration in generating vital statistics and data for development planning, monitoring of progress towards sustainable development goals, and ensuring human rights compliance.
• Protection: Protect children from exploitation, child marriage, trafficking, and other forms of abuse through legal recognition and documentation.

Themes and Focus Areas

• Universal Registration: Promote universal birth registration, ensuring every child is registered at birth regardless of location, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.
• Equitable Access: Address barriers to birth registration, such as poverty, discrimination, cultural beliefs, and lack of awareness about the importance of registration.
• Legal Framework: Advocate for legal reforms and policies that facilitate birth registration, including simplified procedures, mobile registration units, and awareness campaigns.
• Partnerships: Foster partnerships among governments, civil society organizations, international agencies, and communities to improve birth registration coverage and data quality.

Activities and Celebrations

• Advocacy Campaigns: Launch advocacy campaigns, social media initiatives, and public awareness activities to promote birth registration as a human right.
• Community Outreach: Organize outreach programs, mobile registration drives, and door-to-door campaigns to register unregistered children and marginalized populations.
• Policy Dialogues: Host policy dialogues, conferences, and workshops to discuss challenges and best practices in birth registration and legal identity.
• Capacity Building: Provide training for healthcare workers, midwives, and community leaders on birth registration procedures and legal implications.

How to Participate

• Raise Awareness: Learn about the importance of birth registration and share information with others to raise awareness.
• Support Initiatives: Support organizations and initiatives working to improve birth registration coverage and legal identity for all individuals.
• Advocate for Policies: Advocate for policies and investments that strengthen birth registration systems and ensure universal access to legal identity.
• Volunteer: Volunteer with organizations conducting birth registration drives or providing legal assistance to families navigating registration processes.

Global Participation

• International Reach: Celebrated globally by governments, international organizations, civil society groups, and communities committed to advancing birth registration and legal identity.
• Cross-sector Collaboration: Promotes collaboration among health, education, justice, and social welfare sectors to ensure comprehensive birth registration coverage and protection of rights.
• Data Integration: Supports efforts to integrate birth registration data into national and global databases for effective policymaking and monitoring progress towards development goals.

Resources and Support

• UNICEF: Provides resources, toolkits, and guidelines for governments and partners to strengthen birth registration systems and promote legal identity.
• Civil Society Engagement: Engages civil society organizations in advocacy, service delivery, and capacity-building initiatives related to birth registration.
• Research and Innovation: Advances research on birth registration systems, innovative technologies, and approaches to overcome barriers to registration.

Notable Observations and Examples

• Success Stories: Highlights successful initiatives and partnerships that have improved birth registration coverage and legal identity for marginalized populations.
• Data-driven Policies: Demonstrates how birth registration data informs policies and programs related to child rights, health, education, and social protection.
• Impact on Development: Illustrates the impact of birth registration on achieving sustainable development goals, reducing inequality, and promoting social inclusion.

Key Messages

• Human Rights: Emphasize birth registration as a fundamental human right essential for accessing services, protection, and participation in society.
• Inclusivity: Advocate for inclusive birth registration systems that reach every child, including those in remote areas, displaced populations, and marginalized communities.
• Data Integrity: Promote accurate and reliable birth registration data to inform evidence-based policymaking and monitor progress towards global development goals.
• Partnership and Collaboration: Encourage partnerships among governments, civil society, and international organizations to strengthen birth registration systems and ensure universal access to legal identity.

International Birth Registration Day serves as a reminder of the importance of birth registration in safeguarding children's rights, ensuring legal protections, and promoting inclusive development worldwide. It calls for collective action to ensure that every child is registered at birth and has access to a legal identity from the outset of life.