A MajorTurning Point in Birth Registration in Ghana
The Celebration of the OAU Day of the African Child:
June 16th2003

The launch of the Day of the African Child on the 16th of June 2003 marked the high point of the Birth Registration in all regions of Ghana. Under the theme, "birth registration, the right of the child", the national celebration was held at Chorkor, a suburb of Accra. The official launch was performed by the Honourable Mrs. Gladys Asmah, Minister for Women and Children Affairs in collaboration with UNICEF and PLAN International. The period during and after the celebrations led to a significant increase in coverage of registration of births 0-12 months throughout the country. This was seen in an analysis of trends (see chart below).

The impact of the OAU celebrations in real terms may be gleaned from the fact that between June and September of 2002 Ghana recorded a total of 37,717 whereas in 2003 during the same period the figure increased to 96,396. This represents an increase of over 100% in registered births compared to the previous year. For Ghana this reflects the most important outcome of the campaign, which is still on going. It is significant to mention that over 2500 children were registered free of charge across the country on the day alone.

Free Registration for Infants
As part if the OAU day celebrations, the Registry successfully negotiated and obtained the approval of Cabinet for the removal of fees charged for late registration of infants. One of the positive fallouts from the 2003 campaign therefore was the free registration of children, 0-12 months, in Ghana. Data on registered births from the regions especially in the rural communities have indicated a steady increase in infant registration figures in the months following the removal of the fees.