UNICEF: A quarter of the world's children are not registered at birth

New York-SANA

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned of the consequences of not formally registering children, noting that a child who is not registered at birth is considered to be absent from the government and the law.

The United Nations News Center quoted UNICEF as saying in a report on the 73rd anniversary of its founding entitled "Birth registration for every child by 2030" that nearly a quarter of children in the world are still not registered from birth, making them "invisible" for official bodies, despite the increasing numbers Newborns registered significantly during the past decade.

In its report, which covered 174 countries, UNICEF clarified that the birth of one child out of four children under the age of five, equivalent to about 166 million children worldwide, "has not been officially registered."

"We have come a long way, but millions of children are leaking through the cracks because they are not registered ... The child who is not registered at birth is invisible and does not exist in the eyes of the government and the law," said Henrietta Four, executive director of the United Nations.

She added that without providing identity proof to newborns, children are often excluded from education, health care and other vital services and are more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

UNICEF called on the authorities of the countries of the world to provide a birth certificate for every child and integrate birth registration into social systems to facilitate the enjoyment of every child's right to access public services such as health care, social insurance and education. She also stressed the need to invest in safe and innovative technological solutions to support and facilitate the birth registration process and inform citizens The importance of registering each child.