Benin

Impact of the universal birth registration campaign

Before the universal birth registration campaign was launched in 2005 

No Statistics were available

Following the campaign 

An average of 60% of the population are registered, consisting of 68% in urban areas and 56% in rural areas. 

Government policy and practice on birth registration 

The policy on birth registration is governed by Code of Persons and Family, under which a child must be registered within 10 days of their birth. Town halls have a department that looks after registry office documents, and these departments are also decentralised to the districts closest to the population. Parents are the primary people to register births, and health centres register births with the town hall. Birth registration is carried out by registry office officials and registrars.

In the districts, the registrar’s duties are fulfilled by the district chief or an appointed official. 

In communes or other administrative areas, these duties are fulfilled by the mayor or an appointed official.

Counterfoils (section 2) of birth registration documents are kept at the registration centre and then forwarded to the main registration centre. Section 1 is sent to the main registry office centre to issue a certificate, and then forwarded to the Minister for Registry Offices and then to the Minister of Statistics before they are filed in the national archives.

The government set up RAVEC (administrative census) to register and issue birth certificates for the over-15s.

Universal birth rights campaign strategy

Plan Benin used awareness-raising measures and the granting of birth certificates, in particular to children, through “audiences foraines” (mobile administrative identification hearings). Following the government’s new approach to issuing birth certificates for the over-15s, Plan Benin developed its strategy to offer support and back-up, with the necessary equipment and facilities, to the relevant departments (town halls, districts and courts). Plan also reinforces the effectiveness of health officials, registrars and local elected representatives, as well as children's involvement, through radio programmes, to raise parents’ awareness of their responsibility to register their newborns within the deadline.

Outcomes

Policy and legislation changes 

Discussions are under way with the Ministry of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights, through the Department for Civil Affairs, to outline and reinforce the policy.

Government capacity and practice

Plan Benin and other partners, such as Municipal Work and APH, in collaboration with the town halls, are promoting the computerisation of the birth registration system in the decentralised state departments, which have had insufficient human, material and financial resources. This has included:

• 48 storage units for children’s birth certificates in the districts of the Couffo programme unit and 27 storage units in the districts of the Atacora programme unit;
• 100 birth registration registers for Couffo and 120 birth registration records for Atacora;
• 500 and 800 birth registers respectively for Couffo and Atacora;
• 10 computer kits (monitors, printers, mainframes, regulators, software, anti-virus licences and Microsoft Office licences) for the communes in the two programme units;
• training of officials, midwives, communities, etc in birth registration.

Monitoring and ensuring the implementation of policy and legislation related to UBR

Town halls and courts are responsible for monitoring the birth registration policy.

Creating incentives to increase the demand for birth registration 

These have included radio programmes produced by children, surveys by children to compile a list of children who are not registered, and children’s requests to local elected representatives to improve the rate of birth registration.

Waiver/reduction of costs

Registering a birth within the deadline is cost free for the birth certificate; the parent only pays stamp duty. If a birth is not registered in time, this incurs costs and several trips, which also add to costs. 

Partnerships, coordination, cooperation, alliances and coalitions

Plan Benin is working in partnership with networks for the protection of children’s rights, UNICEF and the Ministry of Justice to improve the rate of birth registration. 

Community awareness

Plan has organised many awareness-raising initiatives in communities to demonstrate the importance of registering births. These include “audiences foraines” and on-site training for registrars, health officials and communities. 

Ownership and sustainability (Have the duty-bearers, the state, taken responsibility? How have rights-holders, communities, and civil society been involved to ensure sustainability?)

The decentralisation of the registry office system ensures sustainability and responsibility in the promotion and protection of children’s rights. But these services are not at village level, which would bring them closer to the communities.

The integration of the issue of birth registration with other programmes, such as maternal health

Plan Benin has equipped health services with birth registration records and provided training for health officials.

Registering the most marginalised and hard to reach communities  (ethnic minorities, nomadic groups, orphans, street children, migrants and refugees etc)

All children, whatever their group, benefit from the birth registration measures if they are in the area targeted by the initiatives.

Tackling the related issues of migration, nationality and statelessness

The regional study organised by Plan West Africa is being conducted in Benin, with partners such as UNICEF, Terre des Hommes and BCAT / UE. The recommendations now need to be implemented.

Linking birth registration to other children’s rights, such as increased access to health, education, inheritance rights and protection from trafficking, child labour etc

Plan Benin ensures integration with other programmes, while emphasising birth registration. The emphasis is on women to register their children. Plan Benin's  2004-09 Protection Project, which received NLNO and BNO funding of more than US $1,220,000, has also aimed to reduce the trafficking of children.

Involving children in the UBR campaign

Children have organised awareness-raising radio programmes on birth registration, compiled registers of children in their community who are not registered, and asked local elected representatives about the measures to be taken to improve the rate of birth registration.

Good practice

Plan Benin has supported the state services and town halls in organising “audiences foraines”, which have allowed over 18,500 children – particularly those in exam classes - to access replacement birth certificates. We have also supplied equipment, such as registers and storage units, to districts (see above).

Challenges, gaps and barriers

• Challenges
• To support all communes in Couffo in computerising their registry office service.
• To facilitate the supply of registers to registry offices and to ensure that they have the staff to issue birth certificates for newborns within the deadlines.
• To work with the state and decentralised services to improve the birth registration system.
• Gaps

• Insufficient financial, human and material resources in town halls.

Future activities 

• Meetings between the other partners in the communes and the town halls to plan the computerisation of services and supply of equipment to the district offices.
• Discussions are under way with the Ministry of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights through the Department for Civil Affairs to outline strategies for birth registration of under-15s.