What You Need to Know
• Oumarou Sanda, mayor of Garoua 2, received recognition as Cameroon’s Citizenship Champion for expanding birth registration.
• UNICEF reports that only 43.77 percent of 560,000 births recorded in health facilities in 2023 were officially registered.
• More than 1.5 million children in Cameroon, about 30 percent of primary school pupils, lack birth certificates.
Oumarou Sanda, the mayor of Garoua 2 in northern Cameroon, was honored as Cameroon’s Citizenship Champion for his municipality’s efforts to improve birth registration. This recognition, facilitated through initiatives supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Cameroonian government, highlights the ongoing challenge of providing legal identity to thousands of children in the country. Under Cameroon’s civil status law, every child is entitled to a birth certificate, but many parents find the registration process complicated and inaccessible. Aissatou Bouba, a mother of four, shared her struggle with school admissions due to the lack of official papers for her eldest child. UNICEF estimates that approximately 1.5 million children are enrolled in primary school without birth certificates, which can hinder their educational and legal opportunities later in life.
Why It Matters
The issue of birth registration in Cameroon is critical for child protection and access to education. Without birth certificates, children face significant barriers, including denial of admission to secondary school and the inability to obtain national identity cards. The lack of documentation also makes it difficult to trace and protect children, increasing their vulnerability to exploitation and trafficking. Historical efforts to improve birth registration have been hampered by systemic challenges, leaving many children without the legal identity necessary to access essential services.
Read the Full Story →
