16 November 2009: More than 40,000,000 people across 32 countries, most of them children, now have access to vital health and education services, thanks to Plan’s Universal Birth Registration (UBR) campaign.

The successful efforts to register millions has given many children access to a raft of benefits from life-saving medicine and health care, welfare support, schooling, voting and legal aid.

A new Plan report, 'Count Every Child', reveals how the 4 year campaign has helped to improve laws in 10 countries – enabling access to registration for an additional estimated 153,000,000 people and ensuring birth certificates for generations to come.

Dramatic change

The report also shows dramatic change in some countries over short periods of time. For example, in Cambodia around 7,000,000 people picked up their birth certificates in only 10 months. And one area of Indonesia saw registration rates soar from only 3% to 72% in 2 years.

The UBR campaign has given official recognition to many remote and marginalised groups - from 20,000 street children in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to the Baka people of Cameroon who had never previously been officially registered.

Passport to rights

“At a glance, it’s just a piece of paper, but a birth certificate can be a passport to essential human rights,” said Plan International Chief Executive Officer Nigel Chapman.

“Being unregistered can leave you more vulnerable, disenfranchised and stateless - ‘invisible’ in effect. But being able to prove one’s identity and age opens up a wealth of opportunity - from sitting an examination and opening a bank account to inheriting land and casting your vote.”

Better protected

'Slumdog Millionaire' star and Plan UBR ambassador in India, Anil Kapoor, said: “Because of this campaign, I believe children will be better protected from all kinds of age-related discrimination, exploitation and abuse and I will continue to champion this cause until we achieve 100% registration!”

Plan is calling on national governments to make registration free and accessible and to register children after birth as soon as possible.

The ‘Count Every Child’ report is being launched and discussed at a major international birth registration conference in London today.

Find out more about Plan's Universal Birth Registration campaign.